SEEDS II - NASA Space Exposed Seeds and Educational Kit
SEEDS II - NASA Space Exposed Seeds and Educational Kit
This specimen is an incredible NASA educational kit containing space-flown tomato seeds!
In 1997, NASA began the SEEDS II project, a follow-up to 1984's immensely successful Space Exposed Experiment Developed for Students. These experiments saw millions of seeds sent to outer space to study how zero-g and vacuum exposure would affect their growth rate.
The SEEDS II tomato seeds were distributed to students in universities, high schools, and elementary schools across the country to track germination and growth. Included with the SEEDS II experiment were underwater habitat seeds and a packet of control seeds.
This specimen is one of the educator kits prepared by NASA, including three seed packets (space-exposed, underwater habitat, and control) and scientific materials about the project. Between both SEEDS projects, thousands of schools around the United States received packets like this to gather data and reported that once planted, these tomato seeds grew noticeably faster than the control group of regular seeds.
International Shipping: Due to customs regulations, this product can only be shipped to customers in the US.
Note: These tomato seeds are quite old at this point, and we cannot guarantee they will still germinate. They are intended for use as a unique display item rather than planting.
TOMATO SEEDS IN THE GREAT BEYOND
During the Space Shuttle era, NASA's five orbiters conducted innumerable experiments, many of them focusing on how the zero-g environments impacts terrestrial life. One such experiment, launched as part of the Long Duration Exposure Facility, sent 12.5 million tomato seeds into low Earth orbit to see how their time in space would impact their ability to be grown back on Earth.
After the success of the SEEDS project, NASA revisited the experiments with SEEDS II. These vacuum-exposed seeds were brought to low Earth orbit by Atlantis as part of STS-86 in 1997. Alongside these seeds, another group was exposed to intense underwater pressure, while a third served as a control group.
This specimen is a collection of three packets of tomato seed from the three levels of the experiment: space exposed, underwater, and the control group. Thousands of these packets were shared with schools to experiment how they would grow compared to the control plants. Included is a collection of educator's materials from NASA, explaining details behind the project.
This is a very rare collector's item and we do not expect to get more seeds any time soon! Want to learn more about the Space Shuttle program? Check out our collection of NASA specimens below!
Space Shuttle Columbia - Flown HRSI Tile Fragment
Space Exposed Tomato Seeds
MORE ABOUT SEEDS II
📸 THE STS-86 CREW
TO BOLDLY GROW...
After the success of the first SEEDS project that distributed space-exposed tomato seeds to students across the United States, NASA revisited the experiment in 1997 with SEEDS II. Expanding on the original experiment, SEEDS II provided three packets of tomato seeds to students: a group of seeds that were exposed to the vacuum of space for nine days, another group that was subjected to the high pressure of an underwater environment, and a control group that remained in storage. With these three packets, students could investigate the effects of different extreme environments on the viability of tomato seeds.
📸 ATLANTIS BLASTS OFF
Bringing tomato seeds to an underwater environment was simple enough, but to expose them to space meant a trip aboard a shuttle. On September 26, 1997, Atlantis blasted off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, kicking off STS-86, the shuttle’s 20th mission. During the mission, Atlantis docked with the Russian space station Mir, transferring cargo, delivering a module, and exchanging personnel. During this time, the tomato seeds remained in the shuttle’s cargo, exposed to the vacuum of space.
📸 SEEDS II KIT
Upon the shuttle’s return, kits made up of the three packets of seeds were sent off to schools, where students could compare the growth rate of the space-exposed, underwater, and control group of seeds. Since SEEDS II, interest in how outer space impacts plant life has only grown, such as the Canadian Space Agency’s Tomatosphere. Time and again, experiments show that exposure to the zero-g environment greatly benefits plant growth, with space-exposed seeds germinating and growing faster than their earth-bound counterparts.
Further Reading
Dreschel, Thomas & McClain, B. & Chamberland, D. & Knott, W. & Grymes, R.. (2000). SEEDS II: More Tomatoes from Space! (For Classroom Research).
