STEM project launches rooibos seeds to Space Station
The “Rooibos in Space” initiative will see indigenous South African rooibos seeds sent to the International Space Station, where they will be exposed to microgravity and space radiation before being returned to Earth for comparative planting.
We had 7 schools that applied, so we took them all: we’d budgeted for 5, but it was like, ‘we’re not turning anyone away’ and the 8th school is Parklands College, because they are our Africa Centre of Excellence for Space STEM projects…” “Parklands is well outside where rooibos should grow: they will grow their seeds indoors, because if we’re going to be growing them in space, they’re gonna have to be grown indoors, in an artificial environment, so a lot is going to be learnt through this whole process,” Sandrock adds.
The project is coordinated by Max IQ Space, which has been taking students into space-related STEM projects since 2014, in partnership with the South African Rooibos Council.
This is a summary of the original articles listed below. Always read the source articles for the full context. GhanaSummary does not create or modify the news — we summarise and link to original publishers.
