Australian duckweed launches into space
The ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space, headquartered at the University of Adelaide, has sent its first payload of duckweed into space, jumping aboard a sounding rocket launched by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) as part of its MAPHEUS 15 mission.
Photo supplied by Dr Jenny Mortimer
The MAPHEUS 15 sounding rocket was successfully launched at 7:38am (UTC) on Monday, 11 November, and contained 21 scientific experiments from organisations all around the world.
The University of Adelaide’s MiniWeed experiment, conducted in collaboration with DLR and Melbourne’s La Trobe University, will test how altered gravity affects duckweed – a plant identified as a potential food source for astronauts.
“We are excited to reach this major milestone of launching a sample of Wolffia australiana in a sounding rocket experiment,” says the University of Adelaide’s Associate Professor Jenny Mortimer, Chief Investigator at Plants for Space (P4S).
“Our P4S collaborator at the DLR, Dr Jens Hauslage, has designed an experimental system that will chemically pause the plant’s development at two points in the rocket’s journey: the end of the hypergravity phase, and the end of the microgravity experiment.
“Once we retrieve the samples, we will look at the effects of the altered gravity on the plant biology, in particular, gene expression.
“These experiments will also help us understand how well our gravity-simulation systems in the lab mimic these real-world effects, particularly on an aquatic plant like duckweed.
“They will also help us prepare benchmarking data for experiments we’re conducting as part of NASA’s LEAF program, during which we will grow plants, including Wolffia, on the lunar surface, and return them to Earth.”
Following the launch, Associate Professor Mortimer will work with La Trobe’s Professor Mathew G. Lewsey to analyse the biological and molecular effects on the duckweed, which will help the researchers prepare for future launches to deep space.
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Media contacts:
Associate Professor Jenny Mortimer, Chief Investigator, Plants for Space, University of Adelaide. Phone: +61 0411 307 686, Email: jenny.mortimer@adelaide.edu.au
Professor Volker Hessel, Research Director, Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources, Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology, University of Adelaide. Phone: +61 0466 488 051, Email: volker.hessel@adelaide.edu.au
Johnny von Einem, Senior Media Officer, University of Adelaide. Mobile: +61 0481 688 436, Email: johnny.voneinem@adelaide.edu.au