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Investigation into Plant Growth in Space Set for NASA Mission
An upcoming NASA mission will investigate how plants grow in a microgravity environment, with an experiment scheduled to launch in early August from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The mission involves a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft, which will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Astrobiologists will tend to the plants at the International Space Station (ISS), and after the mission concludes, the samples will return to Earth for further analysis.
Developed by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), this experiment focuses on two varieties of grass. Led by biologist Pubudu Handakumbura, the PNNL team aims to compare growth patterns of these grasses in space with those grown under identical conditions at Kennedy Space Center.
The primary focus of the study is on photosynthesis—the process by which plants convert light energy into the chemical energy needed for growth, while also releasing oxygen and utilizing carbon dioxide. The two grass varieties being examined, Brachypodium distachyon and Setaria viridis, utilize distinct carbon-dioxide concentrating mechanisms. Handakumbura’s team intends to observe how these mechanisms perform under microgravity conditions.
While the C3 carbon-concentrating mechanism is the most common among terrestrial plants, early evidence suggests that the C4 method may yield better growth results in space environments.
“The key question we are exploring is how these plants react to microgravity,” Handakumbura explained. “On Earth, gravity influences root direction and growth. Understanding these responses in space is crucial for future deep space missions, especially regarding food production and sustainability for long-duration habitation.”
The experiment will monitor three sets of plants over a 32-day period—two sets at Kennedy Space Center and one set aboard the space station, totaling 288 plants involved in the study.
Astronauts on the ISS will care for the plants and assess their photosynthetic efficiency. Once the plants return to Earth, they will undergo extensive molecular analysis at PNNL, focusing on proteins, metabolites, and other molecules involved in their growth processes.
This experiment is designated as Advanced Plant Experiment-09 (APEX-09). The PNNL team includes collaborators Chaevien Clendinen, Summer Duckworth, Kim Hixson, Madeline Southworth, and Kylee Tate, who are all integral to the project.
Handakumbura expressed enthusiasm for the mission, stating, “I am eager to see the insights we will gain from this collaborative effort. Our research with APEX-09 will play a vital role in developing future plant systems for space exploration.”
Source
phys.org