Offworld Plant Biology: ARTEMOSS Experiment Launches to the International Space Station

The ANT1 Radiation Tolerance Experiment with Moss in Orbit on the Space Station (ARTEMOSS) payload launched to the ISS aboard SpaceX-31 on November 4. This space experiment uses Antarctic moss samples contained in Petri plates that were irradiated at the NASA Space Radiation Lab (NSRL) at Brookhaven National Lab in New York, which were then transported to Kennedy Space Center.

See also “Offworld Life Science: ARTEMOSS (Antarctic Isolate 1 (ANT1) Radiation Tolerance Experiment“

At the NASA Space Radiation Lab, samples were either exposed to simulated galactic cosmic rays (GCR), simulated solar particle events (SPE), or served as non-irradiation controls. On the ISS, the experiment will be initiated by moving the science bags from cold stowage (4°C) to the ISS cabin environment. After seven days of growth, the science bags with the live moss samples will be placed into the ISS Glacier freezer to preserve them.

The aim of this research is to detect whether and how the effects of combined simulated deep space radiation and sequential spaceflight microgravity differ from those of radiation exposure or microgravity alone on live plant growth, development, and physiology.

The goal is to identify molecular responses behind the physiological adaptation to these environments. Antarctic moss Ceratodon purpureus (C. purpureus), ANT1 isolate, is used as the model organism in this study.

This work is supported through a Space Biology grant (80NSSC22K0208) titled “Molecular Response and Physiological Adaptation of Moss to Simulated Deep Space Cosmic Ionizing Radiation and Spaceflight Microgravity” to Principal Investigator Dr. Agata Zupanska of the SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA).

Astrobiology,