American company Redwire Corporation is preparing to send hemp seeds into space for cultivation on board the International Space Station (ISS).
In what the company claims to be the only greenhouse capable of growing plants in space, Redwire first intends to grow hemp in orbit. The “Redwire Greenhouse” is due to be launched in the spring of 2023.
During this mission, Redwire customer Dewey Scientific will grow industrial hemp in the “Redwire Greenhouse” during a 60-day experiment, as part of a gene expression study.
Dewey Scientific is a cannabis-focused company looking to increase crop efficiency and yields while reducing crop inputs.
Molecular biology research
“We’re working at the intersection of classical breeding and molecular biology, and the hemp experiment is just the first step,” says the company in a press release.
“Redwire Greenhouse will expand opportunities for scientific discovery to improve agricultural production on Earth and enable critical research for agricultural production in space for the benefit of future long-duration human spaceflight,” says Dave Reed, one of the company’s executives in an interview with Hemp Gazette.
“As well as improving crops on our own planet, this is something that will also be critical in space as mankind reaches for the stars – not just for food, but oxygen and water recovery,” the Redwire executive points out.
“Increasing the throughput of plant production research in space, through commercially developed capabilities, will be important in providing essential information for NASA’s Artemis missions and beyond,” Reed concluded in the same interview with our American brethren.
Second space voyage for hemp after a first experience in 2019
Under the Artemis program, NASA is working with commercial and international partners to establish a long-term, sustainable presence on the Moon in preparation for missions to Mars.
This won’t be Redwire’s first encounter with the ISS. Its Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System (PONDS) devices, developed in partnership with Tupperware Brands, are already operating on the space station. PONDS was developed for NASA’s Veggie plant production system.
Nor will this be the first time that industrial hemp has been transported into space. This has already been the case when, in 2019, Kentucky-grown hemp seeds were transported to the ISS to assess seed stability after prolonged exposure to microgravity conditions.
Although the plants will grow at very high altitudes, astronauts won’t be able to count on them for gliding: industrial hemp seeds have very low THC content.
