Orion’s Quest virtual mission “Plant Growth in Space” represents a decade of working with NASA scientists doing research in space.

This tenth mission uses the plant species Brassica rapa or Wisconsin Fast Plants and is designed to shed light on the question, “How do plants react to microgravity in their early growth stages”. As humans continue to expand the duration of space flights and the distance travelled from Earth the need for sustainability in space becomes essential.

Recommended for 5th-10^th grade students

This investigation is designed to have students discover how the phototropic and gravitropic responses of plants grown in a space-based experiment onboard the International Space Station compare with those of plants grown in an earth-based control experiment.

Students will participate in 4 activities analyzing FLIGHT and GROUND photos. Data collected in these activities will allow students to draw their own conclusions about the impact of microgravity on early plant growth and student data will be submitted to the Principle Investigator (PI) for the mission for possible inclusion in their databases.