Plant Biology

Offworld Botany: Genetically Modified, Extemely Dwarf Tomato Plants

By Keith Cowing
Press Release
NASA
May 23, 2025
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Offworld Botany: Genetically Modified, Extemely Dwarf Tomato Plants
Larger image iss073e0031528 (May 15, 2025) — Date Created:2025-05-15

Genetically modified, extemely dwarf tomato plants are pictured growing inside specialized research hardware, called Rhodium BioCuvettes, aboard the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module.

iss073e0031528 (May 15, 2025) — Genetically modified, extemely dwarf tomato plants are pictured growing inside specialized research hardware, called Rhodium BioCuvettes, aboard the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module.

The space botany experiment tests the plants ability to grow without photosynthesis and survive in confined environments in weightlessness potentially supporting crop production on spacecraft.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim photographs genetically modified, extremely dwarf tomato plants. Larger image

Astrobiology, space biology,

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻