Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 10, 1990 TAG: 9004100552
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KIM SUNDERLAND CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
And who cares, you might ask?
Elissa Steeves, a horticulture teacher at Pulaski County High School, wanted her students to be part of this historic project.
In Montgomery County, the Belview Elementary School 4-H Club also received space seeds.
The schools are part of a nationwide experiment sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to learn what happens to tomato seeds exposed to space.
The Space Exposed Experiment Developed for Students (SEEDS), a cooperative project between NASA and the Park Seed Co. from Greenwood, S.C., offers students a one-of-a-kind, hands-on experiment to study the effects of long-term space exposure on living tissue.
In this case, tomato seeds that spent six years floating in space have been distributed to schools so data can be obtained and returned to NASA for a report it will publish later this year.
This experiment is a preliminary step to growing plants on future manned or semi-manned space stations, said Park Seed's spokesman Dave Phillips. "This is the first step to knowing whether or not we can grow anything in space," said Phillips, whose company supplied the seeds and kits to NASA. "And we want to get the younger generations involved so that they will become future home-growers."
After reading an article on SEEDS, Steeves wrote NASA and requested a batch that her students could plant. They planted their seeds last week after everyone got a chance to hold them.
"This project is giving me goose bumps," Steeves said. "I've been walking around letting people hold the seeds and telling them, `Look, you're touching something from outer space.' It's really exciting."
Steeves, a Pulaski teacher for 11 years, has helped build one of the biggest horticulture facilities in the state, a project that is self-supporting, since it derives funds from a small florist business the school also operates.
Steeves figured spacefaring tomato seeds might be a good experience for the students.
"Recording the data on any noticeable changes will be excellent education," she said.
"Not only is this educational, but it's a fun thing too," said Sandy Miller, the Belview 4-H leader and herself a florist. "I never dreamed I'd have the chance to work with NASA, and the kids are really excited."
The 12.5 million tomato seeds were rescued by the crew of the space shuttle Columbia in January, according to a NASA statement.
In March, NASA distributed 180,000 SEEDS kits containing space-exposed seeds and an equal number of Earth-based seeds to teachers from upper-elementary to university level for experiments and study.
During their travels, the seeds were subjected to cosmic radiation, temperature extremes, weightlessness and the vacuum of space.
Students will be looking for possible mutations to the tomato plants, such as changes in fruit size and color, growth rate, and leaf, stem, and stalk shapes and sizes, according to NASA.
Results gathered by the students will be forwarded to NASA by June 15 for a final report. NASA said the SEEDS program has the potential to involve 4 million students and 40,000 educators.
Park Seeds also will report its findings from a variety of seeds it sent to space, including sunflower seeds, asters and fruits. The company is sponsoring an open house this summer and visitors can view their space garden as well. Call 803-223-8555 for information.
"The future of agriculture in space relies on this type of project," Phillips said. "And the younger people have to be involved."
by CNB