Australian Virtual Astronaut Challenge
Plants For Space
Simple Seeds – Join Exolab 11
Launch:
11 – 15 November 2024 SpaceX-31 resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
Partners
- Magnitude.io
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space
- SARDI: Australian Pastures Genebank
- AVA Challenge
Challenge:
Create an environment to grow the healthiest plant from seed. The system you create will be self contained, with water being added only at the start. Record and compare your results with others around the world including one in microgravity on the ISS over 4 weeks.
- What substrate will your seeds grow in?
- Where will you place your growth chamber?
- If it is in a window, what direction does the window face?
- Where is your school located in the world? (Lat/Long)
- What does the weather look like during your experiment (https://bom.gov.au)?
Register your interest:



Photo: (CC BY 2.5 AU) Russell Bestvia natureshare.org.au
Plant used in the study:
Medicago truncatula (barrel medic)
Model organism for legumes.
Research grade seeds from the Australian Pastures Gene Bank, ascension Jemalong A17.
Why this plant:
- Model Organism
- Rapid Life Cycle and Ease of Growth
- International Research Community
- Legume Characteristics
○ Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation
○ Smaller genome size 470 to 500 Mb
○ Diploid 2n=16
Register your interest:
Record your observations:
it is important to keep a log of the changes your plant goes
through during the 4-week mission.
- Record every your observations (photos and measurements)
- Weekly Event: Live webcast from California every week for mission updates, special guests, student voice, and driving questions for the next week.
- Data available: Post-mission data includes RNA sequencing from Purdue University, and all environmental and spatial data gathered from participants (analog and digital).
- Your FREE kit includes: Research grade seeds, mission stickers, and an AIRI image calibration scale. Subject to stock on hand.
Register your interest:

Option:
Exolab
The ExoLab system can be purchased but is not required!
Measure your data and compare live with the Exolab 11 mission
NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/station/research-explorer/investigation/?#id=9097
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Learn more
Listen as experiment lead Ted Tegami from Magnitude.io and Ben Newsome from Fizzics Education talk about the Simple Seeds experiment.
Register your interest:
