The Axiom‑4 mission, which is gearing up for its rescheduled space odyssey with Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others on June 19, has got a group of agricultural scientists from Kerala excited.
Vegetable seeds developed by the group at the Kerala Agriculture University (KAU) in Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, will be part of the exclusive food and nutrition-related experiments to be conducted at the International Space Station (ISS).
The experiments are aimed at evaluating how microgravity affects the germination, growth and viability of the seeds.
The seeds — jyothi and uma (rice), kanakamani (cowpea), thilakathara (sesame), soorya (brinjal) and vellayani vijay (tomato) — will be brought back after a 14-day space sojourn, sown on the university campus and monitored for their resilience and productivity.
The US has already sent rice, tomato, brinjal, sesame and cowpea seeds to the ISS to examine how they react and adapt to microgravity.
"This is the first time that the KAU has been a part of a human space flight mission. The seeds will remain in space for a fortnight in a specially controlled microgravity environment aboard the ISS," a top KAU official said on the condition of anonymity.
"Once the seeds are brought back to Kerala, we will study their germination, growth and viability. A study will be conducted on the evolution of the seeds after their stint in space. This is going to be a major milestone for Indian agricultural science,” the official said.
KAU dean Roy Stephen told this newspaper that the Indian Institute of Space and Technology had asked them to come up with their in-house traditional crop and vegetable seeds.
"It's a feather in our cap. When we chose the seeds, we ensured that their purity was maintained. Once the seeds are back from space, we will conduct research on the biological changes they have undergone," Stephen said.
The much-delayed Isro-Nasa-supported commercial spaceflight by Axiom Space is now targeting a lift-off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Thursday.