Space science educator and astrobiologist Haritina Mogoșanu returns to Saturday Morning to discuss growing plants in space. Her Seeds in Space programme has involved distributing seeds to more than 100 New Zealand schools, working with JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (their astronauts' growth images here).
In 2021 astronauts aboard the International Space Station have undertaken a plant-growth experiment with basil seeds exploring how microgravity affects plant genetics. Last year, Haritina sent pōhutukawa seeds to the space station measuring, when back on Earth, their viability to germinate.
Mogoșanu, who has a horticultural engineering degree, is the executive director of the New Zealand Astrobiology Network.
Photo: Provided
