6th Graders Take on Tomatosphere Project

Sixth grade Tandem scientists are excited to be participating in a student science project called Tomatosphere. Classes have received two packages of tomato seeds for their blind study. One package contains "control" (natural, untreated earth bound seeds), while the other contains seeds that were transported by SpaceX CRS-23 Dragon to the International Space Station in 2021. The seeds spent five weeks in space aboard the ISS before returning to earth and being distributed to science classrooms across the United States and Canada. Without knowing which set is which, sixth grade classes will grow the seedlings and record information about the tomato plants. This information includes germination numbers, growth patterns, and vigor of the seeds. Students across the U.S. and Canada will report their data in a collaborative effort to help scientists "investigate the effects of the space environment on the growth of food that will inevitably support long-term human space travel." Check out more info here: https://youtu.be/HU5kpIQ09Iw.