A New Lifeform Takes Root on the ISS   
       
   Apr. 26, 2014: It's spring, and all around the northern hemisphere gardeners   
   are planting seeds, tilling soil, and watering crops. Imagine a gardener's   
   surprise, however, if water from the hose, instead of hitting the soil and   
   sinking in, floated up to the sky. Or if the soil itself rose up from the   
   ground and fled the garden. That's exactly the kind of dilemma astronauts   
   onboard the ISS have faced for years.  Without gravity, how do you make your   
   garden grow?   
       
   The situation is even more confusing for plants.  In a weightless environment,   
   up and down has no meaning, so roots grow in odd, chaotic directions. Shoots   
   that emerge from the soil in search the sun find, instead, a cold metallic   
   lamp that never rises or sets.  And needless to say, it never rains onboard   
   the space station.   
       
   On April 18th, SpaceX-3 blasted off from Cape Canaveral with a possible   
   solution to these problems.   
       
   "We call it 'Veggie'," says Gioia Massa of the Kennedy Space Center. "It's a   
   plant growth chamber designed to make gardens thrive in weightlessness."   
       
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFdwv9yrxD0   
       
   A new ScienceCast video explains how it is possible to grow plants in the   
   weightlessness of space.  Play it   
   assa, who leads the Veggie science team, has been working on the project for   
   years.  Veggie's heritage traces back decades to experiments with plants on   
   board the Russian space station Mir and NASA's space shuttle.  In all that   
   time, NASA astronauts have never tasted home-grown food in space-but that   
   could soon change.   
       
   "Our first crop will be a variety of lettuce called 'Outredgeous,'" says   
   Massa.  "It is delicious."   
       
   Veggie solves the problems of weightlessness using 'plant pillows.'   
       
   "Basically, these are bags of 'space dirt' and slow-release fertilizer,"   
   explains Trent Smith, the project manager from KSC. "Wicks inserted into the   
   bags draw water into the soil where it cannot float away."   
       
   In addition to guiding water, the wicks act as a kind of gardening stake.   
       
   "The wicks are where we glue the seeds," continues Massa.  "We have to be very   
   careful to orient the seeds so that roots grow 'down' into the soil and shoots   
   pop out of the bag."   
       
   When the shoots emerge, they find an array of LEDs shining overhead, providing   
   light for photosynthesis and a sense of direction to keep the shoots moving   
   "up."  The bellows-like walls of the chamber allow it to expand to make room   
   for the growing crop.   
       
   SpaceX's Dragon delivered Veggie to the ISS. Pictures of Veggie often show the   
   chamber flooded with a mixture of red and blue light.  That's the color of   
   light plants use most for photosynthesis.  "We're just giving them what they   
   want," says Smith.   
       
   Under a purplish light, plants appear gray and unappetizing. "Who wants to   
   look at that?" asks Massa.  Astronaut gardeners can switch on green LEDs as   
   well. Adding that color to the red-blue mix produces white light and displays   
   the garden to better effect.   
       
   The appearance of the garden is important because, as Massa points out,   
   gardening has psychological as well as nutritional benefits.  Compared to   
   Earth, spaceships are a relatively lifeless environment, cold, metallic and   
   sterile. "Plants allow astronauts to form a connection to living things," she   
   says.  "There could be a huge psychological benefit."   
       
   Chalking up another success for commercial space flight, SpaceX's Dragon   
   capsule delivered Veggie to the ISS on Sunday, April 20th.  Massa says the   
   first crop of Outredgeous should be ready for harvesting in late May, but   
   astronauts won't be allowed to taste-test.   
       
   "First, we have to bring the lettuce home for analysis," she explains. Is it   
   safe to eat?  Are there any bacteria growing on the leaves? "These are some of   
   the questions we'll be looking at. If everything checks out, future crops may   
   be eaten."   
       
   Salad anyone?   
       
   Credits:   
   Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit:   
   Science@NASA   
       
   Web Links:   
   Veggie Fact Sheet   
       
   SpaceX-3 Launches Science Cargo to Station   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   --- D'Bridge 3.99   
    * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)