Dreaming of a future life in space

Seeds, Into Space

'Into space, plant seeds.Can they be stored for long periods of time? '-' (used in place of '-')

The vast amount of elements that were created after the birth of the universe 13.7 billion years ago eventually came together to form stars, and 4.6 billion years ago our planet Earth was born. Since its birth 4 billion years ago, life on Earth has evolved in a variety of ways, influenced by changes in the Earth's environment.

In the mid-20th century, humanity began its journey into the unknown of space. In the future, our descendants may live in space as a matter of course. Plants will be an important source of food and oxygen for life in space. However, it is still unclear how plants, which have evolved on Earth, will be affected by the space environment. Therefore, the Space Education Project, together with high school students and researchers from all over Japan, will investigate and research how plant seeds stored for a long time in the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo" of the International Space Station will be affected in space.

Let us work together to make this important mission, which will open up the future of humanity, a success.

Mission of the Space Education Project

Grow seeds that have stayed in space (space species) and those that have been kept on earth (earth species) under the same conditions to investigate the effects of the space environment on living creatures!

By growing space seeds and earth seeds under the same conditions, and comparing and observing various aspects such as the probability of germination, growth rate, and number of leaves, we will explore the effects of the space environment on living organisms.