Starship Nematode: One Tiny Step for a Nematode, One Big Step Toward Sustainable Agriculture in Space

An exciting collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and UF Innovate | Sid Martin Biotech client Pheronym (Alachua, FL), will send nematodes (small round worms) into space to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission represents a look into the future where food crops will be grown in space.

The goal is to develop environmentally friendly methods for space travel that are not harmful to humans. This will be the first biological control experiment in space. The nematode’s send-off, funded by the ISS U.S. National Laboratory, hopes to launch to the orbiting platform as early as 2019.

Learn more about Starship Nematode: One Tiny Step for a Nematode, One Big Step Toward Sustainable Agriculture in Space.