Extraterrestrial agriculture: plant cultivation in space

Figures & data

Figure 1. (A) Space-grown Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings compared with Earth-grown seedlings, examining the (B) root tip (C) and root–hypocotyl junction using immunohistochemistry.

Reproduced from [4], © Springer Nature (2023), published under a CC-BY license.

Figure 2. (A)

Germination occurs. All seedlings, regardless of growth media, show indistinguishable germination. (B) Lunar regolith-grown seedlings show stunted root growth compared to JSC-1A. ( C) Leaf growth is greater for JSC-1A control than regolith-grown seedlings.

Reproduced from [10], © Springer Nature (2022), published under a CC-BY license.

Figure 3. MELiSSA loop as it has been developed by the ESA.

Reproduced from [11], © Elsevier (2024), published under a CC-BY license.

Figure 4. Suggested improvements to the MELiSSA loop schematic.

Reproduced from [11], © Elsevier (2024), published under a CC-BY license.

Nakashima J, Pattathil S, Avci U et al. Glycome profiling and immunohistochemistry uncover changes in cell walls of Arabidopsis thaliana roots during spaceflight. NPJ Microgravity. 9(1), 68 (2023).

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Paul A-L, Elardo SM, Ferl R. Plants grown in Apollo lunar regolith present stress-associated transcriptomes that inform prospects for lunar exploration. Commun. Biol. 5(1), 382 (2022).

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