Green Survival
Through decades of human spaceflight, astronauts have found ways to adapt to life in space. Now scientists want to know if plants can do the same. To answer that question, researchers cultivated a space-borne scattering of thale cress in an experiment chamber aboard the International Space Station. The small flowering plants were genetically programmed to fluoresce green under stress so scientists could study the cellular effects of growing in space. The results to date suggest plants are remarkably adaptable to living in this novel environment, even though much remains to be understood. Watch the video to learn more.
Can plants thrive in space?
How do plants grown in space inform the future of our changing planet? Watch this video to find out.
Thale cress is a popular model organism because of its relatively short life cycle.
On the space station, thale cress is grown within transparent gel plates so scientists can observe changes in morphology.
Fluorescence images offer a real-time window into the genetic response of thale cress to the microgravity environment of space.
For More Information
See Science@NASA
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
Science@NASA and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Cover image courtesy of NASA/Don Petit
ISS image courtesy of NASA
Thale cress image courtesy of ESA
Gel plate and fluorescence images courtesy of University of Florida/Robert Ferl and Anna-Lisa Paul
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Writer
- Julia Calderone (USRA)
Release date
This page was originally published on Thursday, February 27, 2014.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:51 PM EDT.