#astrobotany — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #astrobotany, aggregated by home.social.
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A new research facility designed to simulate the conditions of space habitats has opened in Dübendorf, Switzerland, operating under the European Space Agency’s Ground-Based Facility programme.
The facility’s research scope spans plant biology, microbial systems, bioregenerative life support, and the testing of technologies intended for future lunar and Martian habitats.
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/switzerland-opens-a-new-space-farming-research-facility/
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A quick update for Spudnik-1 fans.
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The latest cargo delivery to the ISS contained several space plant experiments, including one on seed ageing from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/kew-gardens-has-sent-seeds-to-space-to-find-out-how-well-they-age/
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In Don Pettit's latest photo of Spudnik-1, the space spud is growing with its bottom in an old drink bag.
(I blogged what I have discovered about Pettit's latest space gardening adventures last month: https://spacebotany.uk/blog/spudnik-1-don-pettit-reveals-his-iss-potato-experiment/)
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The latest on the blog is an update on the mission to send Argentinian quinoa seeds into space - which has more concrete plans now.
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/argentine-quinoas-space-mission-gets-real/
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Details on the Canadian seeds that are on a trip round the Moon with Artemis II:
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/canadian-seeds-join-artemis-ii-for-round-the-moon-mission/
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Don Pettit has shared some photos of his latest (2025) unorthodox space plant experiment - Spudnik-1! It has provoked some unhinged reactions from people who don't know what a sprouting potato looks like!!!
Image credits: Don Pettit/NASA. More details on the blog: https://spacebotany.uk/blog/spudnik-1-don-pettit-reveals-his-iss-potato-experiment/
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This is an interesting one - a small-scale, student-led series of high-altitude balloon experiments to build a functioning greenhouse system for space plants. The CO2 needed is provided by fungal mycelium.
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/can-high-flying-fungi-help-plants-breathe-in-space/
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Researchers have done some interesting work exploring how well tardigrades can survive in Martian regolith simulants - and found a simple trick can improve its livability.
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/what-water-bears-tell-us-about-growing-plants-on-mars/
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An update on the Hungarian VITAPRIC experiment to grow microgreens in space - the plant samples have finally made it back home!
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/hungarys-space-grown-microgreens-return-to-earth/
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Women-led research has just grown chickpeas from seed to seed in simulated lunar regolith. The trick is to think like a gardener, and let composting worms and friendly fungi lend a hand.
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/fungi-worms-and-chickpeas-growing-food-in-lunar-regolith/
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Astronauts on the Chinese space station Tiangong have released a video of their aeroponic tomatoes for Lunar New Year:
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/space-tomatoes-for-lunar-new-year/
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Crew-12 have (at least) 3 plant experiments on their docket for their mission on the International Space Station - Project Rapunzel, ChlorISS and Veg-06.
Details on the blog: https://spacebotany.uk/blog/three-plant-experiments-on-the-iss-for-crew-12/
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This was an article I wrote for my day job, on early experiments exploring whether it would be possible to uses aquatic mosses (like you'd see in an aquarium) as biofilters on Mars.
Of three different species, Taxiphyllum barbieri proved the most pro-moss-ing 😂
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I published a new edition of the Mission Report yesterday, which includes seeds flying on Artemis II, Grok growing a potato, liverworts, space puddles and a new Deep Space Food Challenge.
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A newly-developed quinoa variety is bringing cultivation back to Argentina - and it may also be headed into space.
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/ancestral-crop-makes-a-comeback-and-eyes-the-stars/
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New on the blog - The Martian Grow project has big plans for space-flown Cannabis seeds this year.
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/martian-grow-cannabis-seeds-in-space/
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When Artemis II returns to Earth, Jeremy Hansen should bring back moon trees.
#SpacePlants #astrobotany #MoonTrees
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-artemis-ii-moon-mission-jeremy-hansen-moon-trees/
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OK, not the most thrilling blog post ever, but I have written a note about Orbite and Interstellar Lab partnering on a project in the desert, with some bonus links to other interesting stuff.
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/space-agriculture-testing-planned-for-saudi-desert-mars-base/
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Latest post on the blog is about attempts to grow barley in Martian regolith, using microorganisms to turn it into a fertile soil.
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/barley-on-mars-two-teams-one-goal/
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On the space moss story, I have seen inaccurate headlines ranging from "Moss grows in space" through to "Moss spores fail to survive space exposure, casting doubt on their use in space exploration".
So, with a slight air of exasperation, I have written my own article:
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/moss-survives-space-media-loses-plot/
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PERUN third test flight scheduled for 22 November 2025 (Saturday)
Backup date: 24 November 2025 (Monday)
https://spaceforest.pl/perun-suborbital-rocket-flight-3-launch-date-information/
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Who wants more space plants and gardening? This week's Mission Report newsletter has Indian microgreens growing in a Martian shelter, low-tech space agriculture & an ESA project growing protein from air (among other things!)
https://spacebotany.uk/blog/mission-report-11-november-2025/
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This week, my round-up of stories on space plants and gardening includes Brazilian space plants in an Italian cave, merry space farmers and a Mongolian analog!
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Since it is Halloween...
“An interesting experiment to get at the question of theoretical maximums would be to grow giant pumpkins in space where neither season nor gravity are concerns,” said James Myers, a plant breeding expert at Oregon State University, in 2015.
https://www.inverse.com/article/6966-what-if-you-grew-a-pumpkin-in-space
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Only very occasionally do my day job and my love of space gardening coincide. I didn't write this article, but I did get it across the finish line.
It's about a Norwegian company learning how to make fertiliser on the Moon, in a very early stage project supported by ESA.
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This week, my round-up of stories from the world of space plants and gardening includes sub-orbital Iranian seeds, ultrasonic e-nozzles, microbes in EDEN ISS & an analog hidden in a Swiss mountain!
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This week’s Gardeners of the Galaxy Mission report has Polish seeds launching on a suborbital flight, astrobotany happening in the World’s Largest Analog and fava beans growing in Mars regolith simulant.
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This week's Mission Report has Iranian space plants, gypsophytes for Mars, Antarctic regolith and more!
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This week’s Gardeners of the Galaxy Mission Report has SPACE tomatoes in space, Moon rocks arriving in the UK and a photoshoot powered by plants!
My free weekly newsletter covers topics related to growing plants in space. You can read online or subscribe to have it delivered directly to your inbox.
#SpacePlants #astrobotany #gardening #botany #ethnobotany #plants
https://emmadoughty.substack.com/p/gardeners-of-the-galaxy-mission-report-10d
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My fourth generation #Astrobotany plant in #gemini space might be the one to stay. Check the whole story from my tinylog entry on the picture and/or alt text.