Growing Beyond Earth A Student’s Guide to Plants in Space

BY NATHANIEL LOOMIS

Students from all over the country have gathered together to perform multistage experiments for NASA to utilize in future missions, and another round is coming up this fall at the Davis County Library in Clearfield.

There’s a lot of space between an astronaut and a farmer (pun intended) but it might be significantly less than people imagine. People in space still need to eat, and there’s only so many pre-packaged, dehydrated foods a human can handle. Add that to the fact that our circulatory systems keep fluids flowing to our brains, and in space those fluids naturally shift to equalize, which prevents us from being able to smell or taste as well as we can on-Earth. It becomes clear that our space men and women severely need fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices.

Tropical Botanical Garden, is aimed toward—botanical research for those aboard the ISS and future interplanetary missions. Students from all over the country have gathered together to perform multi-stage experiments for NASA to utilize in future missions, and another round is coming up this fall at the Davis County Library in Clearfield for students in the city or surrounding areas. Atop the experiments, students will also have opportunities to meet and learn from current and former NASA officials. Duane “Digger” Carry, former NASA astronaut and pilot, came into town for a program at the Southwest Branch Library in Weber County, and another in West Haven, where he discussed his mission as the pilot of the Columbia before its disaster.

That’s what the Growing Beyond Earth program, sponsored by the Fairchild

The experiments are conducted in two stages, both involve growing a specific plant genus in controlled environments similar to those aboard the ISS, but the second stage allows for the students to add in a variable of their own. During one of these experiments, students notified NASA of their own harvesting technique for lettuce, where they would harvest what they needed from the outside leaves and leave the core of the plant to continue growing. NASA took these findings and switched to this cut-and-come-again harvesting technique aboard the space station. This past year, students aimed their research towards flavorful herbs that could be grown in space and their research is set to continue.

Jen Jones, the NASA Solar System Ambassador for North of Salt Lake City through Southern Idaho, strives to ensure the conditions of the experiment match as closely to an astronaut’s reality as possible, “I want to give students as much of a real-world experience as possible because the closer we get, the more likely they’ll pursue a career in a STEM field. The closer we can get the kids to reality, the better their education will be. It allows those kids to touch space.”

To participate, students must be between the 6th and 12th grades as of the 20232024 school year. The program will run from October through May with one meeting (minimum) per week. More project information and the signup page will be available on the Davis County Library website as the start date approaches. Spaces fill quickly!

Get Involved

Growing Beyond Earth Program

Ages: 6-12th graders in the 2023-24 school year

Where: Davis County Library

Clearfield Branch

When: October 2023 – May 2024

(start date TBD)

Contact: 801-451-1840

Jen Jones jen-jones@outlook.com