UF/IFAS Plants Grown in Space Flown Home

Researchers from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences were glad to see their plants returned to Earth last month following an experiment aboard the International Space Station.

The plants were launched as seeds aboard the International Space Station in May as part of a multi-phase experiment being conducted by the UF/IFAS Space Plants Lab. Astronauts aboard the ISS grew the plants in July, harvested them in the Fall, sent them back to Earth in December, and the researchers had them by January.

This experiment focused on genetic strategies to make plants hardier and better able to adapt to the spaceflight environment. Specifically, it focuses on epigenetics – the study of how the environment can cause changes and how existing genes in a living organism can be turned “on” or “off” from stress – and how space travel affects that process. Over time, as more plants are given the opportunity to grow during spaceflight, researchers hope to “train” the plants to adapt to this environment.

Anna-Lisa Paul, research professor and lead investigator on the experiment, said this research aims to train these plants over generations so they’re viable as food sources and life support during extended space missions.

““Consider the food we might grow, and the plants we would use to clean our air. All might be better suited if we allow them to grow a generation in space first before relying on them for food and life support,” she said. “If we learn that plants can be ‘trained’ to be in a space flight environment, we can expect plants can grow better adjusted to space as the generations go on.”

Read more: UF/IFAS Plants Grown in Space Flown Home.