Agnirva Space Premier League - Expedition #31605: Garden Cress in Space: What Students Learned About Light and Growth

One of the essential elements for future space farming is understanding how plants grow in microgravity. The NanoRacks-Maranatha Christian High School-Garden Cress Plant Growth and Phototropic Response Experiment explored how garden cress, a fast-growing edible plant, behaves in orbit.

This experiment, conducted during Expeditions 47/48, focused on phototropism—the way plants bend or grow toward light. On Earth, gravity and light work together to influence plant direction. In space, with gravity removed, only light guides plant growth.

The students used specially designed growth chambers with LED lighting to observe how garden cress seeds germinate, grow, and respond to directional light cues in microgravity. Daily images were taken to track the orientation and health of the plants.

Results showed that garden cress still responded to light, but in ways that were sometimes unpredictable compared to Earth-based controls. Some plants curved erratically, and others showed altered leaf development.

This study provides valuable data for designing crop systems in space habitats. It also deepens our understanding of basic plant biology when one of its major environmental factors—gravity—is taken away.

For student researchers, the project was a remarkable opportunity to contribute to space agriculture, paving the way for future missions beyond Earth.

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