It’s Gardeners of the Galaxy’s fourth birthday! To celebrate this auspicious event, I looked up what would be a suitable fourth anniversary gift. Traditionally, there are two that fit that bill – fruit and flowers. So Ryan and I have baked a lemon cake with strawberry frosting and sugar flower decorations, and I have picked two fun stories from the astrobotany archives to share with you.

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Our Mission Specialist for this episode is the wonderful Borja Barbero Barcenilla, who is talking about what happens to plant telomeres in space. Borja and I had a brilliant chat about his breathtaking research, including an upcoming flight experiment, a special mutant Arabidopsis strain, and the sci-fi experience of putting your plants into a particle accelerator. And if you’ve ever wondered what plant a Spaniard would choose to take into space, well… you won’t want to miss it!

 

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In this teaser episodes, join Emma the Space Gardener for a trip into the astrobotany archives. In 2006, researchers published their work attempting to grow marigolds on simulated lunar regolith. But there's more to it than that....

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The last episode of 2022 is here, and it's a good one! Emma the Space Gardener has been talking with Amy Padolf and Carl Lewis from the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden about their citizen science/education project Growing Beyond Earth® (GBE). GBE is really something special, because it allows school students to collect data that influences which plants NASA grows in space.

 

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In 2018, the German Space Agency launched a particularly ambitious project on a year-long space mission - a satellite equipped with two greenhouses designed to grow tiny tomatoes at gravity levels equivalent to those found on the Moon and Mars. But it was more than just an experiment to grow plants in space. In this episode, Emma the Gardener explores Eu:CROPIS, a project to develop a biological life-support system... for tomatoes.

In the latest episode, Emma the Space Gardener talks with two young scientists, Pia Bensch and Nils Wörz, from a team of students working on a space plant experiment. Glücksklee will spend a month on the ISS next year, exploring the relationship between a clover-like plant and its symbiotic bacteria. 

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With the launch of NASA's Artemis I mission to the Moon just days away, Emma the Space Gardener has put together a guide covering the highlights of the mission for space gardeners. Learn about the space biology experiments on their way to their Moon, the seeds stashed away in the Orion capsule, and more!

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The year is 2022, and all across the United Kingdom, something extraordinary is afoot. Ten awe-inspiring projects are coming together in a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of creativity, many of which involve space or plants! In this episode, Emma the Space Gardener is joined by Prof Fiona Burnett, the horticultural lead for Dandelion. Dandelion is an amazing Scotland-wide grow-your-own project this summer, bringing together art and music, harvest and cooking, and community spirit. Learn about the Cubes of Perpetual Light, the Unexpected Gardens springing up across Scotland, the Big Tattie Experiment and more!

 

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Gardeners of the Galaxy is celebrating its second birthday! So join Emma the Space Gardener as she chats with Dr Anna-Lisa Paul of the UF Space Plants Lab, one of the astrobotanists behind the recent groundbreaking experiments growing the first ever plants on real Moon soil. Anna-Lisa also talks about her wide-ranging experiences, from being an analog astronaut to flying with her plants on the vomit comet, and chooses a Fantasy Space Plant specially designed for growing off-world.

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In 2021, One Giant Leap Australia sent golden wattle seeds into space, as part of a nationwide STEM project to explore "What'll Happen to the Wattle??!". In this episode, Emma the Space Gardener talks to Jackie Carpenter about how the seeds got to space, and then back home again, and what's next for the space-flown wattle seeds.   Support the show via Patreon and get early access to episodes, sneak peeks behind the scenes and exclusive bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/gardenersofthegalaxy.

In this episode, Emma the Space Gardener talks to Mission Specialist Susan Young. Susan's new book, "Growing Beans: A Diet for Healthy People and Planet" aims to get us to look beyond green beans, as growing and eating shelled beans - fresh and dried - has numerous benefits for us and our home planet.    Support the show via Patreon and get early access to episodes, sneak peeks behind the scenes and exclusive bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/gardenersofthegalaxy 

If you've ever carried out a research project, you know how hard it can be to find the relevant scientific papers. The SALAD (Space Agriculture Laboratory Analysis Database project aims to make astrobotany research widely accessible. By linking research papers according to their plants, spacecraft missions, and other details, SALAD compiles astrobotany research in one central location. In this episode, Emma the Space Gardener talks with Sam Humphrey and Luke Concollato about the SALAD project. 

 

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Our Mission Specialist for this episode is Patrick Grubbs, who recently completed a Professional Science Master's degree in Controlled Environment Agriculture at the University of Arizona. Patrick is one of the people behind the Space Ecology Workshop, an annual virtual symposium on bioregenerative life support, space agriculture, closed ecological systems, and more. He also co-founded The Spring Institute for Forests on the Moon, an international non-profit research organization developing closed ecological life support technology and working to democratize space access in underrepresented countries. The Spring Institute is working on some really exciting astrobotany projects, and Patrick is here to tell us about... some of them!

 

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Watering plants in space is a bit tricky, and something NASA is still working on.

In this episode, Emma the Space Gardener explores one of the designs they've been perfecting. The Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System (PONDS) is a Tupperware-based upgrade to the Veggie growing system. 

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An extraordinary apple tree in a garden in Lincolnshire is 400 years old. It inspired Sir Isaac Newton to think about gravity, and in 2015 British astronaut Tim Peake took its pips into space. In this episode, Emma the Space Gardener talks with Jeremy Curtis, Head of Education and Skills at the UK Space Agency, about sending Newton's apple seeds into space. She finds out what's happened to the space saplings and has a close encounter in Cornwall.

 

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Getting a plant payload into space is rarely straightforward. In this episode, Emma the Space Gardener chats with Dr Carl Carruthers, who started out sending his own research projects into space and then became Chief Scientist at Nanoracks. There he worked on projects to send palm tree seeds to the International Space Station for the UAE, and to design a kit to turn school kids into space farmers. 

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We all know that spaceflight is tricky, and after 18 months of hearing about some amazing astrobotany successes, in this episode, Emma the Space Gardener looks into some space plant experiments that didn't quite go according to plan. An astrobotanical blooper reel, if you like. 

 

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In this episode, Emma the Space Gardener talks to Vertical Veg Man Mark Ridsdill Smith, an expert on small space gardening on Earth. Small space gardening shares many of the same constraints facing space gardeners, although harvesting runner beans up a ladder isn't one of them!

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Join Emma the Space Gardener as she talks to Dr Wieger Wamelink about how he became a space farmer, his experiments growing plants on Moon and Mars soil simulants, the importance of developing off-world ecosystems, and whether we can bring pet chickens to Mars!

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In episode 35, Emma the Space Gardener explores why bioregenerative life support systems are things we only see in the movies, and how far NASA has come in its quest to build a space salad machine.

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Luke Fountain joins Emma the Space Gardener to talk about the different ways plants use nitrogen. Luke is investigating two different processes in the nitrogen cycle, and his work could help us to grow crops more sustainably on Earth - and have applications in space! Luke is also part of the team working on the SpaCEA Space Foam Crop Growth Challenge, which will turn everyday citizens into Earth-bound astrobotanists.

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Hello, Gardeners of the Galaxy! Just in time for Halloween, Emma the Space Gardener presents a truly terrifying episode, involving our gardening nemesis. When you learn just how many snails have been sent to space, you'll be horrified! 🐌 🚀

(And they're not the only pests to have made it into space 😱.)

 

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There's growing evidence that gardening on Earth has both physical and mental benefits. However, so far there has been little research into the psychological benefits of gardening in space. In this episode, Emma the Space Gardener explores anecdotal evidence that suggests we should ensure long-duration space missions pack a greenhouse module, and takes a peek at an ongoing study into whether growing plants helps astronauts endure the stresses of space travel.

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In this episode, Emma the Space Gardener talks with Marshall Porterfield, Professor of Biological Engineering & Space Biophysics at Purdue University, who offers up some highlights from his long career in space science.

 

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Lori Waters from Magnitude.io joins Emma the Space Gardener to talk about the Exolab experiments that have sent intrepid leguminauts into space, the student researchers involved in the ground control experiments, and her experiences as an analog astronaut.

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In this episode, Emma the Space Gardener talks with Dr Christina Johnson, who works with microgreens at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. She explains the benefits and challenges of growing microgreens in orbit, and what it's going to take to get them onto astronaut menus.

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Prof Mark Weislogel from Portland State University joins Emma the Space Gardener to explore engineering solutions to the challenge of watering plants in space.

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Join Emma the Space Gardener on the Tiangong space station to learn about China's botanical experiments in space, and why Chinese consumers are eagerly awaiting rice from heaven. Plus - what was the first plant grown in space?

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Gardeners of the Galaxy has completed its first solar orbit! Join Emma the Space Gardener for a birthday celebration and learn how GotG got started, hear the story of a space plants experiment you'll never forget, and find out which plant Emma would choose to take into space.

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Join Emma the Space Gardener in the Gardeners of the Galaxy time machine to learn about the time that NASA encouraged schoolchildren all over the world to grow killer mutant space tomatoes. That can't be right, can it?

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How will we pollinate plants in space? Join Emma the Space Gardener to discover why future space crops will need pollination, and how that might be achieved. And learn the history of bees in space, and whether our buzzy friends will be joining us on future space missions.

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NASA will soon be growing chillies on the International Space Station. Jacob Torres joins Emma the Space Gardener to talk New Mexico chiles in space, his Space Chile Challenge citizen science project, and more!

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In 2020, Morgan Irons made space exploration history when she sent the first Earth soils to the International Space Station. Morgan joins Emma the Space Gardener to talk about the importance of soil structure on Earth, why she sent soil into space, and how we might develop living soils on Mars.

Thirty years ago, Helen Sharman blasted off on her Project Juno mission, becoming the first British astronaut and the first women to visit the Mir space station. Join Emma the Space Gardener to discover how Helen was chosen for the mission, the plants she grew on Mir, and what happened to the pansy seeds she took into space.

In the summer of 1863, a world-famous English botanist was pondering why the shoots of climbing plants twirl around as they grow. In this episode, join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores the fascinating world of plant movement, and what that has to do with the first plants that ever flew on NASA's space shuttle.

 

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In the Hi-Seas habitat in Hawaii, analog astronauts take part in simulated space missions. Ben Greaves joins Emma the Space Gardener to talk about the isolation, the dehydrated diet, and his experiment growing microgreens in space-age hydrogel.

Can sending vines into space help wine production on Earth? Nicholas Gaume and Dr Michael Lebert from Space Cargo Unlimited join Emma the Space Gardener to discuss Mission WISE, and why they've sent both wine and vines to the International Space Station.

Aquaculture is farming in water. Can we do that in space? Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth... and beyond!

Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth... and beyond! In this episode, Emma talks to Grace Crain, a researcher on the MELiSSA project developing circular life support systems. 

Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth... and beyond! In this episode, Emma recaps important spacecraft Arrivals and Departures and learns about growing nutrients and medicines in space. There's a new plant experiment running on the International Space Station, and exciting news from ESA.

Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth... and beyond! In this episode, Emma talks about some exciting news for astrobotanists and starts exploring the history of Space Gardeners of Colour for Black History Month.

Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth... and beyond! In this episode, Emma recaps the latest space plant news and then talks about some of the seeds with space stories.

Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth... and beyond! In this episode, Emma explores some exciting interplanetary plant news and talks about two projects growing in the Orbital Garden - heritage hydroponics and space chiles.

Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth... and beyond! Emma's guest on this week's show is Dr Karl Hasenstein, the Principal Investigator for the Plant Habitat-02 experiment, which is currently growing radishes on the International Space Station.

Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth... and beyond! Emma's guest on this week's show is Michael Wilkinson, a teacher who's bringing astrobotany into classrooms with Magnitude.io. Michael talks about the ExoLab series of experiments, which 'leguminaut' is blasting off in 2021, and how a Bitmoji teacher will be able to tag along for the ride!

Gardeners of the Galaxy is three years old! To celebrate, Emma the Space Gardener has been delving into the archives, digging deeper into three related astrobotany stories from days gone by, which all have something to do with trees.

 

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Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth... and beyond! Emma's guest on this week's show is Christine Escobar, VP of Space Lab Technologies. Christine talks about the wonderful microgravity lilypond, and the company's plans to put a greenhouse on Mars.

Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth... and beyond! Emma's guest on this week's show is Dr Gioia Massa, a Project Scientist at the NASA Kennedy Space Center, working on the Veggie growing system on the International Space Station. Gioia talks about the challenges of growing plants in space, those blooming space zinnias, and when we might see astronauts eating their first space tomato!

Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth... and beyond! Emma's guest on the show this week is Dr Javier Medina, a Space Plant Biologist with the Spanish National Research Council. He talks about why it's essential we grow plants in space, what we've learned from his experiments, and when there might be a greenhouse on the Moon!

Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth... and beyond! In this episode, Emma talks to analog astronaut Elliot Roth, who recently spent two weeks in a simulated Moon mission. Find out why Elliot thinks we should pack algae when we leave Earth, and why we'd be better settling on Venus than Mars.