Fast Plants® in space

NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Why send plants into space? Plants are of special interest to space biologists because of the profound effect gravity has on orienting plant growth. Scientists want to know how gravity is perceived by the plant and how to compensate for the effects of microgravity on plant growth. Without gravity directing roots "down" and the growing tip of the plant "up", how can plants grow normally?

There is also the question of supplying plants in space with water, minerals and air. In microgravity, water "poured" from a vessel floats in globs and oxygen moves differently in the absence of convective air movement. A second reason for having plants in space is a therapeutic one, to counteract the feelings of isolation among crew members involved with long stays in space.

And third, plants have the potential role of providing atmospheric regeneration in a closed ecological life support system (CELSS). Carbon dioxide exhaled by humans could be taken up by plants and used in photosynthesis, returning oxygen and food to the crew.

Plants can also form part of a water regeneration loop. The productivity of plants relative to the input of energy (light) can be increased tremendously by using such techniques as carbon dioxide enrichment and hydroponics. In order to realize the goal of using plants in a CELSS, many experiments with plant growth facilities on the ground and in space will be necessary.

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