UT Tyler one step closer to sending plants to space

Taking the project to space allows astronauts, “To grow fresh produce in spaceflight where astronauts are going for deep space missions ...
Published: Mar. 27, 2023 at 5:51 PM CDT|Updated: Mar. 27, 2023 at 7:28 PM CDT

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - The university has received a $100,000 grant from NASA to advance the fundamental understanding of plants in space.

The Crop-FIT for space farming is comparable to a fitness watch, but for plants.

“They can detect this hormonal radiations in real time so by looking at this radiations when this hormonal, hormones go up or when the levels of this hormones go down, we can tell whether the plant is undergoing any stress or not,” UT Tyler Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Dr. Shawana Tabassum said.

“When these plants are undergoing gravity, microgravity, or when there’s excessive temperature or excessive level of carbon dioxide, then how these plants respond,” Tabassum said.

Taking the project to space allows astronauts, “To grow fresh produce in spaceflight where astronauts are going for deep space missions and they really want fresh produce over this longer time,” Tabassum said.

The long-term goal is to help scientists learn how to grow plants on the moon, Mars, and other planets.

UT Tyler will collaborate with Texas A&M University-College Station, as project activities will be conducted at the Texas A&M University AgriLife Research facility.