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NASA’s Plant Science is Rooted in Earth and Shoots for the Stars
Space Experiments, Space Biology
May 11, 2023
NASA supports USDA plant science research that benefits life on our home planet and beyond!
This image shows a teal and yellow sign that says “Biotechnology Lab In cooperation with USDA Agricultural Research Service.” To the right of the sign are several potted plants, and behind it are windows that give a glimpse into the inside of the lab. This includes two illuminated white squares stacked one over the other, which are plant growing chambers developed by NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division at Kennedy Space Center.
NASA Seeks Space Technologies for Suborbital and Orbital Flight Tests
Space Experiments
May 2, 2023
NASA’s 2023 TechFlights solicitation is now open!
NASA Seeks Space Technologies for Suborbital and Orbital Flight Tests
Space Experiments
Apr 28, 2023
NASA’s 2023 TechFlights solicitation is now open!
NASA Teams Persevere Through Plant Challenges in Space
Space Experiments
Apr 20, 2023
Dr. Gioia Massa, life sciences project scientist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, talks about persevering through a challenging plant experiment in space.
NASA, SpaceX's 27th Resupply Mission Returns Science Samples for Study
Space Experiments
Apr 13, 2023
Samples from NASA studies are returning from the International Space Station April 15 aboard the 27th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission for the agency.
NASA Selects 7 Fundamental Physics Proposals
Space Experiments
Mar 15, 2023
NASA’s Fundamental Physics Program has selected seven proposals submitted in response to the Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences - 2022 (ROSES-2022) E.6 Fundamental Physics call for proposal
12 de enero: Sesiones informativas sobre el proyecto científico Growing Beyond Earth en inglés y español para profesores de 6.º a 12.º.
Space Experiments
Jan 11, 2023
¿Te interesa ayudar a la NASA a alimentar a los astronautas de la Estación Espacial Internacional? ¡Únete al equipo de Growing Beyond Earth®!
Photo on left: scientist working with plants in a pink-lit grow box; photo on right: scientist smiling for camera and working with plants at a pink-lit grow box
Coexisting quantum gases in Earth’s orbit
Space Experiments
Jan 11, 2023
Two species of quantum gases have been created to coexist and interact for the first time in space. Accessing resonant interactions among these gases will allow scientists to explore few-body physics, quantum chemistry, and fundamental physics in novel energy regimes—without the perturbing force of... Read More
Photo of two scientists wearing full lab gear (hats, face masks, gloves and bodysuits) working on a white metal module with several cables and cords connected to it.
Sowing the Seeds of Future Space Travel
Space Experiments, Space Biology
Dec 7, 2022
After 908 days in low Earth orbit, a small package on board the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle-6 has come home to the delight of some biological scientists. Soon they will open an aluminum alloy container that holds samples of plant seeds that they hope can be used to sustain astronauts on long... Read More
): One single image is divided into four parts: A shows a Mizuna seed as a tan-colored, smooth-textured, irregularly shaped sphere. B shows a two-leafed small green Mizuna seedling emerging from the white “window” of a black seed “pillow” aboard the Space Station. C shows a row of healthy Mizuna plants in pots with irrigation hoses in a ground environmental chamber. D shows multiple Mizuna plants growing in the Veggie unit on the Space Station. The Veggie unit displays multiple seed pillows and the unit is
Three Experiments Heading to Space Station Aim to Support Deep-Space Missions
Space Experiments, Space Biology
Nov 17, 2022
Research on dwarf tomatoes, gut bacterium, and amorphous metals could help astronauts go farther, stay longer in space
Small red tomatoes growing under a flat metallic fixture that’s bathing the fruiting plants in blue and red lights, creating a purple hue. The plants are growing out of a red-framed open-box enclosure. Within the enclosure are black-padded pots made of a strong-water resistant flexible material called a flight pillow. This flight pillow encloses the base of the plants with a flat, white material.
NASA Space Biology Bootcamp Teaches the Teachers, Reaching More Students
Space Experiments
Nov 10, 2022
When a team of NASA researchers set out to help train a diverse new generation of space biologists, they wanted to magnify their impact on today’s students. So, they decided to teach the teachers.
Surviving Space: Extreme Plant Adaptation
Space Experiments, Space Biology
Oct 28, 2022
Which plants have the best chances for survival in space? That’s the question being addressed by Principal Investigators Anna-Lisa Paul and Robert Ferl in the Epigenetic Adaptation to the Spaceflight Environment – Accumulated Genomic Change Induced by Generations in Space (Plant Habitat-03)... Read More
Small green Arabidopsis plants germinating on the base of the Advanced Plant Habitat growth chamber. This is a large box with walls on each side except for the front, which has a large opening. Within the opening, there are LED lights are at the top, air vents on the sides, and a combination of small sensors with cameras.
NASA Selects 7 Space Biology Plant Studies to Help Enable Explorers to Boldly Grow Where No One Has Grown Before
Space Experiments, Space Biology
Oct 19, 2022
NASA announces the award of 7 grants or cooperative agreements for exciting new space biology research that will advance NASA’s understanding of how plants respond, acclimate and adapt to the space environment in support of human space exploration. 
NASA Selects 12 Space Biology Research Studies
Space Experiments, Space Biology
Oct 14, 2022
NASA announces the award of 12 grants or cooperative agreements for exciting new space biology research that will advance NASA’s understanding of how vertebrate and invertebrate model organisms respond, acclimate, and adapt to the space environment in support of human space exploration. ... Read More