Plants in Space Help Plants on Earth

Like people, plants experience a wide range of physical and physiological changes in microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment..  Understanding these changes can benefit efforts to grow plants on future missions, whether for fundamental research or even human colonization away from earth.  Results from these same studies could provide a greater knowledge of basic plant science, benefiting agriculture and all people on Earth

Just like on Earth, plants in space need care. Last week, NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut Ricky Arnold performed some thinning operations in the Plant Habitat-1 on Arabidopsis, small flowering plants related to cabbage and mustard. Watch Expedition 56 commander, Drew Feustel, as he shares video of the Plant Habitat and why Arnold calls Arabidopsis “the fruit flies of the plant kingdom.”

Learn more about plant research onboard the ISSInternational Space Station National Lab:

• Probing Plant Preferences in Microgravity
• Taking Plant Research Off the Ground
• Staying True to Your Roots: Plants on the ISS
• Student Spotlight: The Future of Space Farming