Last week I saw plants for the first time in 4 months. I might have gotten a little teary. We get fresh fruit and veggies via our cargo vehicles and they provide welcome pops of color and scent, but it turns out this does not compare at all to seeing living plants and smelling the rich scent of vegetation.
This work was part of the Plant Habitat-06 experiment investigating physiological and genetic defense mechanisms of wild-type and immune-deficient tomato plants during spaceflight.
My job was to harvest leaves from each plant for eventual return to Earth. Researchers will use genetic sequencing and analyses to compare the defense responses and immune functions of the different tomato plants grown in space vs parallel experiments back on Earth.
Results of the study contribute to our understanding of plant responses to pathogens, which are responsible for 20-40% of global crop loss, and support the development of methods to grow plants for food production on future space missions.
๐ขRT! @ASPB_ECPS presents: 'What I Wish I Had Known When I Started Graduate School,' a Q&A panel on how to navigate and succeed in grad school! Please join us Friday, April 14, at 1PM CDT by registering here: https://t.co/1HMj7ZXMe4
The NASA Postdoctoral Program has a position open for Space Crop Production! NASA postdocs are a pretty sweet gig, and this position will be co-advised by the epic all-star duo of @plantsinspace AND @elisonblanca. Click to learn more! Join us! #spaceplants
https://t.co/bSRArwhffH
The European Space Agency on Wednesday named the first ever "parastronaut" in a major step towards allowing people with physical disabilities to work and live in space. https://t.co/RyeYd1gaU6
Had a lot of fun at my first @ASGSRSpace meeting. This was a great burst of energy to study plant telomeres in space soon with the new @NASA grant and with @SarahWyattOhioU and @halfbeet
ECPS is looking for motivated and passionate #ecrs to fill these positions on the ECPS core team:
If you or if you know of anyone who are great candidates for these positions, please nominate using the form attached:https://t.co/4xZq4d5hEX @ASPB
Deadline: September 7th, 2022
On the other hand wile they have a partially fueled rocket on the pad and they now have "Wet Dress 6" as an option to push on things so maybe they are going to do that - and scrub. #Artemis
The Early Career Plant Scientists Section of ASPB has leadership positions open! Apply today & help us advocate for ECRs, expand equity, diversity, inclusion, & access in the Plant Biology community, plan events at annual meeting, participate in ASPB decision making, &more! @ASPB
ECPS is looking for motivated and passionate #ecrs to fill these positions on the ECPS core team:
If you or if you know of anyone who are great candidates for these positions, please nominate using the form attached:https://t.co/4xZq4d5hEX @ASPB
Deadline: September 7th, 2022
This week, I met with STEM students at @NASAKennedy. With their innovation and vision, Americaโs next generation will soon chart our path forward in space. To all the young leaders out there: Keep dreaming and keep doing.
NASA engineers have determined that this morningโs scrub was most likely due to my failure to buy Artemis socks and wear them to work today. The issue has been resolved and we should be go for launch on Friday. #Artemis1#weAREGOING#onfriday