NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers is pictured inside the cupola with space botany hardware that supports the LEO Integrated Flori-culture Experiment (LIFE) 01 (Rhodium Plant LIFE) investigation.
Plant Biology
Posted inAstronauts and Explorers, Life Support Systems, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Plant Biology, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Status Report
Offworld Biotech: Growing Microalgae In Microgravity
NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers shows off research hardware to study how microalgae grow in spaceflight conditions such as microgravity and radiation.
Posted inLife Support Systems, Moon, Plant Biology, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Status Report
Raman Spectroscopy As A Tool For Assessing Plant Growth In Space And On Lunar Regolith Simulants
Colonization of the Moon and other planets is an aspiration of NASA and may yield important benefits for our civilization.
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Conferences and Meetings, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Plant Biology, Press Release, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Space Physiology & Medicine, Space Stations
American Society for Gravitational and Space Research ASGSR 2025 Call for Abstracts
Abstract submissions for the 2025 ASGSR annual conference are now being accepted. Each year the ASGSR annual conference brings together the biological and physical space sciences community to share research, […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Study Resolves The Diatom Tree Of Life
Trees get most of the love, but diatoms, a group of photosynthetic microalgae, produce 20% of Earth’s oxygen and are the foundation of aquatic food webs. The prevalence and diversity […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microgravity, Plant Biology, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Status Report
Offworld Life Science: Visualized Microtubules In Cell Cultures
Taken on 28 May 2025, this image of the preparative zone of cultured tobacco cells with visualized microtubules (yellow: microtubules [preparative zone], magenta: nuclei).
Posted inLife Support Systems, Microgravity, Plant Biology, Press Release, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Space Stations
Offworld Botany: Genetically Modified, Extemely Dwarf Tomato Plants
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 […]
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Life Support Systems, Microgravity, People Of Astrobiology, Plant Biology, Radiation, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Status Report
Astronaut Anne McClain Conducts Offworld Space Botany Research
Anne McClain: How does space radiation affect plants? NASA’s Advanced Plant EXperiment-12 (APEX-12) seeks to find out.
Posted inLife Support Systems, Plant Biology, Press Release, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Space Stations
Harvesting Lettuce For A Space Station Study
Inside a laboratory in the Space Systems Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a payload implementation team member harvests ‘Outredgeous’ romaine lettuce growing in the Advanced Plant […]
Posted inGaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Plant Biology, Press Release, Science Fiction, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Echoes of “Avatar”: Spruce Trees Communicate During A Solar Eclipse
Editor’s note: In the “Avatar” film series the interconnectedness of trees and other life forms is at the core of Pandoran ecosystems. On Earth, large expanses of trees exists wich […]