Educational & Humanitarian projects on ISS Russian Segment

SEEDS Experiment

Experiment SEEDS is a part of the scientific research program to be conducted by ESA astronaut of the Dutch nationality Andre Kuipers onboard the ISS RS in the frame of DSM Delta Project. The European Space Agency is a customer of the preparation and implementation of the research program.

Objective:

Show that plants respond to gravity by a directed growth (experiments on ground) and that they will show a non-preferential or 'disoriented' growth direction when grown in the dark in microgravity.

Task:

Demonstrate the influence of gravity on the growth of plants to young people (10 -15 years).

Science Hardware Used:

• SEEDS Pouch:
• Folding rocket (3);
• Plant growth chamber inserts (6);
• Mini-DV videotapes (2);
• 30 ml syringe with water;
• ZIP-lock bags (3);
• Silica gel bag;
• Filter paper with ordinary rocket lettuce (Rucola) plant seeds;
• SUIT return pouch to return videotapes and part of the seeds not used in the experiment.

Crew Support Equipment:

• Camcoder DSR PD-150P.

Experiment Results:

Information on the process of seeds growth in microgravity recorded on videotapes.