Science and technology has made the impossible possible and in this league the latest news is by NASA. NASA recently shared the glimpses of growing radishes in the microgravity of space.
Recently, the social media was taken by storm when NASA astronaut Kate Rubins shared photographs of the Plant Habitat-02 (PH-02) experiment aboard the International Space Station with radish saplings growing on the floating space lab.
It is a result of multiple researches conducted in the microgravity conditions of the International Space Station (ISS) that helped the astronauts to learn more about space-farming. The most interesting thing revealed in this study is that researchers have managed to learn how plants would react to different space stimuli, if they can survive under red or blue light.
If we go by the official NASA website, the radish was chosen as it is a “model plant.” In general mustard and cabbage are commonly used for microgravity study but are not widely consumed or filling as a radish. The reason behind choosing radish is that they have relatively short cultivation period and are a great source of nutrition as well.
According to experts, the biggest hurdle in growing plants without gravity is rooting to the soil. For the same, the team has sown the seeds into “pillows” and fertiliser, water is distributed properly across the growing saplings.
If we go by NASA’s report delivered by the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the plants have been growing for 27 days now with little maintenance from the crew. There are LED lights, like a disco, inside the chamber.
The plants will be harvested by the crew soon and sent to Earth for analysis.
Source: timesindia