Space Seeds Return to Earth

Now that the plants are back on Earth, scientists at WCSAR will analyse them to learn if growing in the weightless environment of free-fall had any ill effects

"Most importantly, we need to see how many seeds were produced," Zhou says. Comparing the fecundity of the space-grown plants to a control group grown under identical conditions on the ground will tell researchers whether the conditions of growth - such as temperature, moisture, and fertiliser concentrations - were indeed optimal.

"The second thing we need to do is conduct a final chemical analysis of the seeds to find out if there was a different phytochemistry involved," Zhou says. (Phytochemistry is a term for the chemical make-up of a plant.) If there is a difference, it would likely be caused by the weightless environment where the plants were gardened, he added.

These seeds will be preserved for use in a similar experiment to be flown to the ISS by a shuttle flight currently scheduled for November 2001. Half of the seeds in that experiment will be from this space-grown batch, and the other half will be regular Earth-grown seeds. Comparing the plants and seeds produced in this follow-up experiment will tell scientists whether the conditions of space have any effect on subsequent generations of plants.

Eventually gardens could become a routine part of space travel. "NASA has announced a plan to sustain a long-term human presence in space," notes Zhou. What are those astronauts going to eat? "Are they going to eat all dehydrated food, or are they going to get some fresh salad crops?" he asks.

Salads and vegetables are not only good nutrition, but they could also offer an important psychological boost to diners who have spent a long time in space. Eating reconstituted foods from plastic bags is bound to grow tiresome eventually. Fresh lettuce or broccoli might be a welcome change - even for kids.