William Atkins
Saturday, 09 August 2008 20:33
Science -
Space
Page 1 of 3
Native Australian plant seeds are orbiting in space onboard the International Space Station as part of an experiment to test the viability of storing seeds in space under weightless (freefall) conditions and in the presence of space radiation.
Approximately 2,500 seeds are participating in the space experiment being conducted by NASA astronaut Dr.
Gregory Errol Chamitoff, currently a flight engineer with the ISS Expedition 17 crew.
The seed experiment began after the NASA STS-124 crew of the space shuttle Discovery brought the seeds to the International Space Station on May 31, 2008.
Some of the plant species include the
Wollemi Pine (scientific name
Wollemia nobilis), New South Wales (NSW) Waratah (
Telopea speciosissima), Golden Wattle (
Acacia pycnantha), and Sydney flannel flower (
Actinotus helianthi).
One goal of the seed experiment is to see if plant seeds can be stored in space for an extended period of time in order to ensure plants survive in case a global disaster or environmental catastrophe happens on Earth.
The experiment is also being performed to see if one day such seeds may be able to grow in space for such purposes as generating oxygen, filtering air, and providing food for astronauts.
One specially important plant seed now up in space is the
Wollemia nobilis, an ancient pine tree. It is the only species within the genus Wollemia.
David Noble discovered it on or around September 10, 1994, within sandstone gorges near Lithgow in the rainforest area (Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains) of the Wollemi National Park (about 90 miles, 150 kilometers, northwest of Sydney) in New South Wales.
Please read on for more information on the seed mission in space.
