Agricultural research on board ISS


View of Astronaut Peggy Whitson working at the Plant Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (PGBA) at Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack 4 during Expedition Five on the International Space Station (ISS). Understanding the effects of gravity on plant life is essential in preparation for future interplanetary exploration. The ability to produce high energy, low mass food sources during space flight will enable the maintenance of crew health during long duration missions while having a reduced impact on resources necessary for long distance travel. Additional applications of a plant growth chamber include using plants as components of regenerative life support systems for travel to the Moon and Mars. The ADVASC investigation explored the benefits of using microgravity to create custom crops that can withstand the inhospitable climates of space flight, resist pestilence, and need less space to grow. ADVASC was performed in three phases over several ISS expeditions. The first phase of the investigation occurred on ISS Expedition 2 and involved growing Arabidopsis thaliana (rapidly growing, flowering plant in the mustard family that has been grown on many space missions) from seed to seed in space. The second phase of the investigation used new Arabidopsis thaliana seed, as well as seeds harvested from the first phase to create a second generation of Arabidopsis thaliana plants. The third and final phase of the investigation grew soybean plants using the ADVASC (Advanced Astroculture) hardware.


Size: 3032px × 1997px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: advanced, advasc, agricultural, apparatus, astroculture, astronaut, bioprocessing, board, chamber, experiment, female, food, generic, gravity, growth, international, iss, life, microgravity, peggy, people, person, pgba, plant, regenerative, research, researcher, science, scientist, space, station, support, systems, whitson, woman