Greengram, Fenugreek seeds from UAS Dharwad to journey to ISS

Dharwad: As the world celebrates the successful launch of the Axiom-4 mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Dharwad, has achieved a unique milestone of its own—sending dry seeds of greengram and fenugreek (methi) to the International Space Station (ISS) for space-based nutritional research.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Dr Ravikumar Hosamani, Assistant Professor, Department of Biotechnology at UAS Dharwad and the principal investigator of the project, explained that astronauts often face significant health challenges in space, including nutritional deficiencies.

As a solution, UAS has sent seeds of two Indian dietary staples—greengram and fenugreek—to assess their viability as fresh, sprouted food sources in space.

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, currently aboard the ISS, will rehydrate the seeds by adding water, triggering germination within 2 to 4 days. Once sprouted, the seeds will be frozen and preserved aboard the station before being brought back to Earth.

"Upon their return, we will analyse the sprouting efficiency, nutritional profile, changes in phytohormone dynamics, and the transcriptome response of the sprouts to space conditions," said Dr Hosamani adding that we will also study microbial growth patterns in the space-grown sprouts to ensure food safety for future missions."

The research aims to support the development of India-centric salad vegetables suitable for astronaut diets, offering fresh and highly nutritious food options during long-duration space missions.

Sprouted seeds are known to be nutrient-dense, offering greater dietary value than many whole salad plants. Greengram, widely used in Indian cuisine, thrives in semi-arid conditions and is an ideal candidate for space farming. Fenugreek, on the other hand, is rich in nutraceutical compounds and offers a range of medicinal benefits—including enhanced immunity, improved bone health, reduced risk of kidney stones, and cardiovascular support—all of which are critical to astronaut health.

Interestingly, these are also some of the key health risks faced by astronauts during extended space travel, Dr Hosamani noted.

The frozen sprouts are expected to be shipped back to UAS Dharwad within the next 14 days. Detailed nutritional and physiological assessments will begin upon their arrival.

The project is being conducted in collaboration with Dr Sudheer Siddapureddy, Associate Professor at IIT-Dharwad, who serves as the co-investigator.