A French astronaut
is tending a miniature garden on the International Space Station (ISS) as part
of the first experiment inside the orbiting laboratory's new European research
module.
European
Space Agency (ESA) astronaut
Leopold Eyharts is growing tiny seedlings inside the space station's Columbus laboratory, which he helped deliver
during last month's STS-122 shuttle flight.
The WAICO
experiment — short for Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis
Roots at Different g-levels — could help scientists figure out how to grow
crops in space for future astronauts during long space voyages. Eyharts is
growing two types of Arabidopsis seeds, relatives of the mustard plant, in both
zero gravity and Earth gravity during the study.
"We're
going to see how they grow in microgravity," Eyharts told a group of 300
students in Toulouse, France Tuesday via a video link. "They can live for a long
time on the International Space Station, but they're not going to grow the same
way as they do on Earth."
Eyharts
said the experiment began in earnest a few days ago in Columbus' Biolab research rack, so it is
still too early to determine how his orbital crop is fairing.
"Theoretically,
we should be able to [analyze the] results and the samples when we get back to
Earth," Eyharts said.
Both a wild
type and a genetically modified type of seed will be left to grow for 10 to 15
days. Biolab's video cameras will record the growth and allow Earth-bound
observers to see the plants progress in real-time.
The experiment's lead scientist, professor Guenther Scherer
from the Leibniz University in Hannover, Germany, will observe
how the different levels of gravity affect the normal spiraling and coiling
root growth.
By the end of the experiment, Biolab will automatically
preserve the seeds in their final state of growth for scientists to analyze
back on Earth. Eyharts will also take photographs of the plants' appearance at
that time.
Biolab is
one of several science experiments planned for ESA's
Columbus lab, which Eyharts is commissioning during his stint as an
Expedition 16 flight engineer aboard ISS. The research module is Europe's largest contribution to the ISS
project.
Eyharts and seedlings alike will return to Earth in late
March aboard the space shuttle Endeavour during NASA's upcoming STS-123
mission.
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