Plants in The outer Space- Botany beyond the sky

The knowledge that we are gaining is enabling us to

extend our exploration and future colonization of space."

by Lori Meggs, NASA
Thinking of growing green plants in the outer space
seems quite weird right!!!
But yes,there have been 70 years of explorations in
the very of field of astrobiology. I mean growing
vegetables and crops at an extreme environment
with less air or oxygen, no normal light exposure
and a condition of microgravity is not very much far from our
reach.
Scientists from NASA and all over the world are experimenting of
growing plants on space to atudy the effects on the growing
nature and what could be the outcome which can be beneficial
for mankind.
History of plants growing in
outer spaceJuly 9, 1946-The first organisms
in space were"specially developed
strains of seeds" launched to 134
km on a U.S. launched V-2 rocket.
July 30, 1946
The first seeds launched into space and successfully recovered
were maize seeds was launched on Soon followed rye and
cotton.
Fig; Bion Satellite:
Bion mission- The Bion satellites, also
named Biocosmos were
which carried plants to
a series of Soviet
space
(later Russian) biosatellites. They were part of the Kosmos
satellites.
The Soviet biosatellite program began in
1966 with Kosmos 110, and resumed in 1973 with Kosmos 605.
Cooperation in space ventures between the Soviet Union and

the United States was initiated in 1971 The Bion program, which
began in 1966, included a series of missions that flew biological
experiments using primates, rodents, insects, cells, and plants
on an unmanned biosatellite in near-earth orbit. The
collaboration has resulted in the flight of more than 100 U.S.
experiments, one-half of all U.S. there has been 12 bion
missions. Last one was in 2013.
Zond-5 of soviet russia became the first
spacecraft to circle the Moon and return to
land on Earth. On September 18, 1968,the
spacecraft flew around the Moon. The
closest distance was 1,950 km. A
biological payload of two Russian plants,
seeds, bacteria, and other living matter
was included in the flight.
The O/OREOS (Organism/Organic Exposure to Orbital
Stresses) nanosatellite is a 5.5-kilogram (12 lb) automated
laboratory approximately the size of a loaf of bread that contains
two separate astrobiology experiments on board. the spacecraft
was successfully launched as a secondary payload on STP-S26
led by the Space Test Program of the United States Air Force on
a Minotaur IV rocket from Kodiak Island, Alaska on November 19,
2010.It carried microbes to outer space to study.
The Validity behind the efforts and experiments:
Growing food to supplement and minimize the food that must be
carried to space will be increasingly important on long-duration
missions as flightcrews travel farther from Earth
to find out if the produce grown in space can be consumed
safely;
types of microorganisms might grow on the plants and what can
be done to reduce the threat of microorganisms in the hardware
prior to launch;
what can be done to clean or sanitize the produce after it has
been harvested; and how to optimize production compared to
the resources required to grow it.

The experiment, known as

Lada Validating Vegetable
Production Unit -- Plants,
Protocols, Procedures and
Requirements -- uses a very
simple chamber similar to a greenhouse. Water and light levels
are controlled automatically in the ISS
(International Space Station).
A plant growth chamber bound for the
International Space Station inside theDragon
capsule on the SpaceX-3 resupply mission may
help expand in-orbit food production capabilities
in more ways than one, and offer astronauts
something they dont take for granted, fresh
food.ImageCredit: NASA

Crew members aboard the International Space Station have

been growing such plants and vegetables for years in their
"space garden" where plants are grown in an erath like
environment at outer space within a secluded chamber
A space garden

Currently NASA and Park Seed Company jointly venturing into

sending plants and seeds into space for better research.

List of plants which were grown in outer space In the past

Maize Rye,cotton ,

Super dwarf wheat, Apogey wheat, Brassica rapa,

Rice,Tulips, Onions, peas, radishes, lettuce, garlic,
A space grown sunflower
cucumbers, parsley, Lettuce
and Cinnamon basils.

Some interesting facts on the topicMoon tree- Moon trees are trees grown from 500 seeds taken
into orbit around the Moon by Stuart Roosa during the Apollo
14 mission in 1971. Ed cliff,An American forest officer proposed
the idea. Seeds for the experiment were chosen from five
different types of trees: Loblolly Pine, Sycamore, Sweetgum,
Redwood, and Douglas Fir.
A Loblolly Pine was planted at the White House, and trees
were planted in Brazil, Switzerland, and presented to various
Fig; Bicentennial
renowned personalities, among others
Moon Tree, planted
in 1975 in
Washington Square

A recent test has been conducted at the Kennedy space station

on Japanese lettuce called Mizuna
The outcomes-First, a sensor failure in the
traditional root module on the station caused the
plants to receive higher than specified water
levels, making the newer improved module look
better in the comparison. it turned out that
overwatered traditional module sprouted and
developed leaves about twice as fast.
Fig; Mizuna lettuce growing aboard
the International Space Station
before being harvested and frozen
for return to Earth.
Image credit: NASA

The new fertilizer being tested had a slower and more even
release rate, which had helped lower the plants' accumulation of
salts during ground studies.
Recent efforts to create a colony in Neighbour plant Mars and
our own Moon has rised the concern of growing eatable plants

for survival in such conditions and explorations are made to this

field of botany.

THE MARS ONE MISSION targets to form a colony on Mars by

the year 2023 and special concerns are given to plantations on
the mission. Scientists and Governments are trying on carrying
research more on plants at Earth-based greenhouses and
controlled-environment agricultural systems in space to help
farmers produce better, healthier crops in small spaces using
the optimum amount of water and nutrient.

SUBMITTED BY-SOMYA PRUSTY

+3 3RD YEAR
BOTANY HONOURS