Gardeners of the Galaxy Mission Report: 18 March 2024
Your weekly round-up of astrobotany news and adventure. This week we've got space-bred seeds used for habitat repair, Moon Trees about to be adopted and a Martian environment in Aberdeen!
Hello, Gardeners of the Galaxy! Welcome to this week's Mission Report.
March 12 marked China's 46th Arbor Day, a national day dedicated to tree planting and environmental protection. During an event at the Three Gorges area of the Yangtze River, 3,000 artificially bred specimens of two rare native plants - Myricaria laxiflora and Plantago fengdouensis - were returned to their historical distribution areas.
The reintroduction included 500 Plantago fengdouensis plants bred from space-mutated seeds. 4000 seeds spent 183 days in orbit on Shenzhou-13 in 2021/22. Researchers will monitor the survival rate and growth of these new strains and select those better suited to restoring the ecological environment in the water-level fluctuation zone.
Huang Guiyun, senior engineer at the Yangtze River biodiversity research center of the China Three Gorges Corporation, said that compared to ordinary Plantago fengdouensis, the space-bred seedlings have exhibited notable differences. "Observations show that the space-bred ones are visibly larger, with some developing clusters of leaves instead of the typical two cotyledons," she said.
She also explained that most space breeding experiments focus on crops, while little has been done involving endangered plants in China, which is a new field to explore. Plantago fengdouensis is a nationally protected plant with an extremely narrow distribution, and space breeding could explore the potential for creating a new variety to further contribute to the species' conservation.
Read more: China embraces warm spring with nationwide green initiatives, Rare, endangered plants reintroduced into China's Three Gorges Reservoir area and First space-bred 'giant panda in the plant world' returns to the wild.
In other news...
NASA and SpaceX are targeting 16:55 EDT (20:55 GMT) on Thursday, 21st March 2024 for the launch of the CRS-30 cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
Read more: NASA to Send Research to Station Aboard 30th SpaceX Resupply Mission.
Davi Souza, a greenhouse specialist and space farming researcher from Brazil is collaborating with the team of Agritecture to develop 'Space Farming 101', the first online course in space agriculture for space farmers, growers and CEA professionals.
They're hosting a webinar to launch the course at 12 pm EST (5 pm BST) on 3rd April 2024.
"Space Farming experts from diverse backgrounds and institutions across the globe will share their insights on the current state of space exploration and its demand for plants as essential sources of food and oxygen for astronauts. This webinar promises an enriching exploration into the symbiotic relationship between space exploration and agriculture, shedding light on the innovations driving both fields forward."
The link for registration is: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GwcFYPjBTGuw_UI5bVI0wA
The Nebraska National Forest nursery has Artemis Moon Tree saplings - sweetgum, American sycamore and some loblolly pine - ready to ship to their forever homes.
Read more: Nebraska National Forest at Halsey has 'moon trees' ready to ship.
David Hanson at the University of New Mexico is one of the scientists collaborating on the TASTIE project, which is investigating whether a fungus can help plants grow in space. Although the samples returned to Earth in February, it will take about a year for the team to publish their findings.
Read more: This fungus may be the key to growing food on other planets, during drought.
UW-Madison botany professor Simon Gilroy has been talking to the Wisconsin State Journal about TASTIE, his early career, sending plants into space and how that helps us here on Earth.
"We are getting flooding-resistant plants (where) we can take one gene and we can flip it. We can take a plant that if you grow it and waterlog the soil over a course of four weeks, it’s this tiny little purple, really unhappy thing. And by flipping that one gene, we can make exactly the same plant green and big and flowering. The reason that we ended up at that point is because we were tinkering with things for the spaceflight."
Read more: UW-Madison botany professor is breaking new ground in the science of space gardening.
The BBC Click team has visited the Kennedy Space Center to learn more about NASA's latest developments in Moon exploration. If you're in the UK, you can watch the full 25-minute episode via iPlayer. If you're not (or if you're just here for the plants), Spencer Kelly posted a short section on the plant lab to the website formerly known as Twitter. Hat tip to Peter Kent for sharing that one with me!
NASA's latest Surprisingly Stem episode features Space Crop Production Project Scientist Dr Matt Mickens, who talks about his work with light recipes and seed films and his time as a NASA intern:
Dr. Radamés JB Cordero at Johns Hopkins has received a $1.25 million grant to conduct "groundbreaking" research in astromycology. His work will help combat public health risks and advance the use of fungal-based biotechnologies in space travel.
Read more: Mushrooms in space? Hopkins professor does "pioneering" research.
Chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Ying Diao is leading a project to investigate how wearable printed electronics will be used to make farming possible in space. Early results show that highly stretchable sensors can monitor and transmit plant growth information without human intervention.
Read more: Study brings scientists a step closer to successfully growing plants in space.
The latest edition of NASA History News & Notes mentions Christine Stevens, NASA's new Chief Archivist. In 2020, she harvested seeds from Goddard's Moon Tree and sprouted second-generation Moon Trees, two of which were planted at Goddard to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 14.
And you can now follow the UF Space Plants Lab on LinkedIn.
The 2024 Space Census is a demographic survey of individuals in the UK space workforce, supported by the UK Space Agency, the Institute of Physics, the Royal Aeronautical Society, the IET, UKspace, and dozens of other space organisations.
It's for people working in the space sector, including engineers, astronomers, computer scientists, geospatial analysts, marketers, recruiters, educators, lawyers, and more. As long as your work is related to space in some way, you are welcome to take part.
You can complete the 2024 Space Census at census.spaceskills.org and share it with your networks. The Census takes about 10 minutes and the results will inform government policy and help make the space sector a better place to work.
Findings from the previous Space Census in 2020 have been widely used, including by the Science Minister in Parliament, the Science and Technology Commons Select Committee, the OECD, and many space organisations in the UK and abroad.
UK youngsters can enter the National Trust's Space +Time Award, a chance to explore big ideas in science, art and culture, society and nature and climate. The competition involves answering one of four questions:
How can science be more accessible and relevant to everyone?
Access to art and culture isn't equal. How can your big idea address the imbalance?
What's your big idea that would change society for the better, for everyone?
Nature and climate are in crisis. How can your big idea save them and help us break out of the echo chamber?
The closing date for entries is 30th April 2024.
More details: Time + Space Award
Scientists at the University of Aberdeen will be creating a unique Martian chamber - a box about the size of a refrigerator that re-creates the temperatures, pressures, and atmosphere of the Martian surface, essentially creating a Mars environment on Earth. It's part of the preparations for HABIT (Habitability: Brine, Irradiation and Temperature) – an instrument designed to measure key conditions on the planet and to attempt to produce liquid water on Mars for the first time.
Read more: Aberdeen boffins set to recreate the surface of Mars in a box.
Erika Nesvold explores the debate on how ethical it would be to terraform other planets in an article in Nautilus.
Read more: The Thorny Ethics of Making Alien Planets Habitable.
Scientists at Kew have found that Giant redwoods are flourishing in the UK. The trees were first brought to the UK about 160 years ago and are growing at a similar rate to those found in their native range in California.
Read more: Giant redwoods: World’s largest trees 'thriving in UK'.
Eating insects is common in some parts of the world, and some species are even considered delicacies. Ants are one example, sometimes roasted whole for a snack or ground and used to add flavour and texture to dishes. Researchers now report the unique aroma profiles of four species of edible ants, which taste markedly different from one another.
Read more: Investigating the many flavors of edible ants.
A study led by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory demonstrates how the edible fungus, Aspergillus oryzae, can be bioengineered to enhance its nutritional value and sensory appeal as a meat substitute. By modifying the fungus' genome using cutting-edge synthetic biology tools, the researchers were able to elevate the production of key nutrients and flavour molecules, bringing it closer to mimicking the taste and texture of real meat.
Read more: Mold Will Be the Food of Our Dystopian Future: New Research Examines the Future of Fungi as Food.
A study by ecologist Jan Frouz from the Faculty of Science at Charles University highlights the complex interplay between plants, soil, and soil biota, revealing the profound impact of their interactions on ecosystem engineering and sustainability.
Read more: Study unveils how plants and soil biota forge ecosystems over time.
But move over, lab-grown meat: Python could be the food of the future. These scaly reptiles may be one of the most sustainable animals to farm on the planet, according to new research published last week.
Read more: Python Meat Could Be a Sustainable, Nutritious Food Source, Scientists Say.
"Friends of Sam Birch" is an informal group that preserves and propagates one man’s remarkable bean collection. Herbert William “Sam” Birch was a science teacher and a passionate gardener, especially when it came to beans. By the end of his life, he had collected seeds for 350 different varieties.
Read more: The Woman Preserving a Beloved Bean Collection.
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I'll be back in your inboxes next week. Thanks for reading and being part of the Gardeners of the Galaxy community.
Ex solo ad astra,
Emma (Space Gardener)