This week students, scientists, and astronauts will join forces to learn more about how plants grow in space.
Teachers often struggle to give a satisfying answer when their students ask that perennial question.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, thousands of students will begin growing their own batches of the plant , Arabidopsis thaliana, a flowering weed better known as thale cress. A comparison of the sprouting plants on Earth with those in Earth orbit will help students and scientists understand how plant lifecycles are affected by freefall. The data on their plants' growth will be compared to measurements of plants grown on the International Space Station. It engages students' interest in a way that standard textbook lessons do not. The rack-mounted growth chamber will be switched on soon after installation onto the ISS last Friday.