Educational & Humanitarian projects on ISS Russian Segment

SEEDS Experiment

Experiment SEEDS forms part of the scientific research program performed by Brazilian Astronaut Marcos C. Pontes (BSA) on the Russian Segment of the ISS in the frame of CENTENARIO Brazilian Soyuz Mission Project. The Brazilian Space Agency is a customer of the preparation and implementation of the research program.

Objective:

Demonstration of gravitropism effects (gravitation change response of plants) and phototropism effects (differences in illumination conditions) on germination of seeds in microgravity conditions.

Task:

To demonstrate the gravitation effect on plants growth to Brazilian students (aged from 10 to 15).

Science Hardware Used:

Kit SED consisting of

• Kits with seeds SED (4 pc);
• SED memory map.

Four kits with seeds are used in the experiment. Each of the kits contains five seeds Phaseolus vulgaris. Two kits are exposed in the light, the rest kits are exposed in the dark. The seeds germinate at temperatures from +20 to +30°C and at a low oxygen concentration (up to ~3%). Germination process activation is performed through seeds wetting with the use of the attached syringe with water.
The process of seeds germination and evolution is accompanied by photography performed by the onboard camera. The Laptop is used for the following processing of digital photos and their preparation for downlink.

Flight Hardware Used

• Camera Nikon D1Х;
• Laptop A31P.

Experiment Results:

• Photo information on the seeds germination process in microgravity conditions downlinked from the ISS RS.
• Log with information on the seeds growth, memory map, as well as the kits with germinated seeds, to be returned to the ground in the Soyuz TMA descent vehicle.