Natural and social sciences colloquium: ‘Gardening without Gravity’ tomorrow

Please join renowned astrobotanist Professor Simon Gilroy of UW-Madison at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in room 163 of the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Natural and Social Sciences. Prof. Gilroy will present a talk titled “Gardening without Gravity: Plants on the International Space Station.”

Plants don’t need much to thrive: sunlight, water, and some soil; but how do you garden on the International Space Station where even the air has to be shipped from the Earth and a watering can simply doesn’t work? This talk will discuss the challenges of growing plants in spaceflight and how the plant cultivation systems operating on the International Space Station try to overcome some of these problems. Growing plants in space also provides some unique insights into how plants work on the Earth and especially how they serve to promote well-being, even when you are traveling at 17,500 miles per hour, 250 miles straight up. 

SPONSORING DEPARTMENT, OFFICE, OR ORGANIZATION:

The Division of Natural and Social Sciences and the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Andrea Henle, ahenle@carthage.edu, 262-551-6315