The common legumes were taken into space on December 30, 2024 and are part of a platform to grow and sustain flora in extra terrestrial environments. | Photo Credit: X/@isro
A batch of cowpea seeds which were taken into orbit by an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) mission and which recently sprouted has unveiled their first leaves.
“Leaves have emerged! VSSC’s CROPS (Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies) aboard PSLV-C60 POEM-4 achieves a milestone as cowpea sprouts unveil their first leaves in space,” ISRO said in a post on Monday.
It can be recalled that the cowpea seeds had a couple of days ago successfully sprouted in space.
The CROPS payload, developed by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), is envisioned as a multi-phase platform to develop and evolve ISRO’s capabilities for growing and sustaining flora in extra terrestrial environments.
Designed as a fully automated system, a five to seven-day experiment is planned to demonstrate seed germination and plant sustenance until the two-leaf stage in a microgravity environment,” ISRO had said prior to the launch.
The experiment plans to grow eight cowpea seeds in a closed-box environment with active thermal control.
The CROPS payload was part of the 24 payloads flown on the PSLV-C60 SpaDeX mission’s PS4-Orbital Experiment Module (POEM-4) on December 30, 2024.
Published – January 06, 2025 02:21 pm IST
