NASA's Plant Habitat grows radishes in space under microgravity

PH-02 Experiment is a larger part of NASA's Artemis program, a sustainable exploration plan on and around the Moon and possible voyages to Mars

NASA's Plant Habitat-02 (PH-02) experiment made a breakthrough last month after it successfully managed to grow radishes onboard a microgravity chamber in the International Space Station (ISS), the space organisation said in a statement.

The experiment took place aboard the Advanced Plant Habitat chamber on the ISS' European research module, Columbus.

The PH-02 Experiment is a larger part of NASA's Artemis programme, a sustainable exploration plan on and around the Moon and possible voyages to Mars.

If the experiment gives satisfactory results, it could provide nutrition to astronauts in space with fresh produce for the crew on long-term missions, away from home.

"Future astronauts bound for Mars will travel for about two years before returning to Earth and will have to carry all the supplies they need for the duration of the mission," NASA said.

Having grown for a period of 27 days, the radishes were initially sown in porous clay, with water, oxygen, fertilizers, and other nutrients, released remotely, in precise quantities, according to the statement.

The chamber is also decked with LED lights. The plants themselves require very little maintenance, and are closely monitored from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, thanks to the 180 sensors and cameras present in the microgravity chamber.

Radishes were chosen as they are both edible and nutrient-rich, and share genetic similarities with Arabidopsis, an extensively studied plant species under microgravity.

"Learning how to grow food closer to home aboard the space station will help determine which plants thrive the best in microgravity and offer the best variety and nutritional balance for a Martian menu," the Space organisation added.

The radishes are slated to be harvested later this month, following which they will be sent back to earth for researchers to get a greater insight and analyse how well they grew.