ISRO to conduct experiments on growing plants in space

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will carry out experiments with plants such as spinach and cowpeas (lobia) when it sends the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-4 (POEM-4) into space later this month.

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Three of the 24 payloads set to be flown in the mission are for carrying out biological experiments to see how living organisms survive in the near-vacuum environment of space. Biological material from plants as well as gut bacteria will be flown as part of the three experiments.

The Compact Research Module for Orbital Plants Studies (CROPS), developed by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), is envisioned as a multi-phase platform to develop and evolve ISRO’s capabilities for growing and sustaining flora in the extra-terrestrial environments.

Designed as a fully automated system, a five to seven-day experiment is planned to demonstrate seed germination and plant sustenance until the two-leaf stage in a microgravity environment. The experiment plans to grow eight cowpea seeds in a closed-box environment with active thermal control.

The Amity Plant Experimental Module in Space (APEMS) payload is designed to study growth-related changes in plant callus using spinach under microgravity and Earth gravity. Two parallel experiments will be carried out simultaneously — one on POEM-4 in space and one on the ground at Amity University. The sunlight and nutrients required for the plant will be simulated using LEDs inside the module, with nutrients supplied by a gel medium. The coloration and horizontal growth of the plant will be captured by a camera placed on top of the module.

The experiment’s outcome will provide insights into how higher plants sense the direction of gravity and light, and respond to gravitational stress and regulate direction of growth, a basic need for boosting plant growth on Earth and during prolonged spaceflight missions.

The RVSat-1 payload is developed by RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru. It aims to perform a microbiological experiment under microgravity conditions in Low Earth Orbit. RVSat-1 will measure the growth kinetics of a gut bacterium in space.