AGROSPACE EXPERIMENTS SUITE (AES), TWO INVESTIGATIONS
Research Area: Classroom Versions of ISS Investigations
Expedition(s): 10 and 11
Principal Investigator: ● Guiseppe Colla, Universita della Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
● Marco Casucci, Azimuth, Rome, Italy
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Agrospace Experiments Suite (AES) consists of 2 separate investigations: Seedlings and Space
Beans for Students. Seedlings evaluates the feasibility of producing vegetable (rocket seeds)
sprouts in space for food purposes and to study the influence of weightlessness on
germination, growth, and the nutritional quality of sprouts. Space Beans for Students allows
students in classrooms on Earth to germinate beans at the same time as being germinated by
astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
RESULTS
On return to Earth, the plastic bags and
seedlings were sent for quality analysis
(eg, vitamin C, carbohydrates, nitrates,
antioxidants). Producing sprouts directly
during space missions may represent an
interesting opportunity to offer high-
quality fresh ready-to-eat food to the
astronauts. The goal of this work was to
compare, in terms of growth and
nutritional quality, rocket (Eruca sativa
Mill) seedlings grown in the International
Space Station during the ENEIDE mission
(Soyuz 10S/9S exchange) with those
grown in a ground-based experiment (in
presence and absence of clinorotation).
The rocket seedlings obtained from the
space-experiment were thinner and
more elongated than those obtained in
the ground-based experiment. Cotyledons were often closed in the seedlings grown in the
space experiment. Quantitative (germination, fresh, and dry weight) and qualitative (glucose,
fructose, sucrose, and starch) traits of rocket seedlings were negatively affected by
microgravity, especially those recorded on seedlings grown under real microgravity conditions.
The total chlorophyll and carotenoids of seedlings obtained in the space experiment were
strongly reduced in comparison to those obtained in the ground-based experiment (presence
and absence of clinorotation). The results showed that it is possible to produce rocket seedlings
in the ISS; however, further studies are needed to define the optimal environmental conditions
for producing rocket seedlings with high nutritional value.
Space Beans for Students experiment. Plastic bag contains
paper towel, seeds, and the water container. ESA image.