Seeds for space: Green gram and fenugreek from Dharwad sent to ISS for experiment

The Hindu

5 hours ago

As Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom-4 mission (Ax-4) to the International Space Station (ISS) was launched successfully on Wednesday, the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) has something to cheer about. Along with Mr. Shubhanshu, the seeds sent by the university will also be reaching the ISS.
In an experiment that is of relevance to the crew's nutrition, principal investigator from UAS, Dharwad, Ravikumar Hosamani, and co-investigator Sudheer Siddapureddy from IIT-Dharwad have taken up the project under which two types of seeds — green gram and fenugreek (methi) — have reached the ISS for an experiment.
Prof. Hosamani, an assistant professor of biotechnology in UAS-D, and Prof. Siddapureddy, associate professor from IIT-Dharwad, were in the United States of America between June 2 and 11 for the project. 'We personally handed over the seeds in dry form to the integration team at the Kennedy Space Centre-NASA,' Prof. Hosamani told The Hindu.
Sprouting in space
In the experiment, Mr. Shukla will add water to these seeds, which are likely to begin sprouting within two to four days. The sprouts will then be frozen on the space station until they return to earth. Upon their return, officials would assess the sprouting rate (germination) of seeds, evaluate their nutritional quality, analyse changes in phytohormone dynamics, and study the sprout transcriptome response to space conditions. This apart, they plan to investigate microbial growth in the space sprout, Prof. Hosamani said.
This research is aimed at contributing towards the development of India-centric salad vegetables for astronaut nourishment in space as a plant-based food production system is crucial for supporting long-term human space exploration.
Mature plants
'While salad crops like lettuce, tomato, radish, cabbage, carrot, and onion are considered ideal for supplementing the crew's diet in space, the cultivation of mature plants in space required complex controlled environments. In contrast, sprouting salad seeds in space can be achieved with a simple container and a manual water injection system, without the need for light and other electronics,' he said.
Green gram is a traditional semi-arid sprout commonly used in Indian cuisine, while fenugreek (methi) offers significant medicinal benefits and is rich in nutraceuticals. The investigators believe that considering the high cost involved in sending food to the ISS, growing two fresh vegetables onboard spacecraft or on extraplanetary surfaces could be an ideal solution for supplementing crew diets.