MOSCOW, 22 August (BelTA) - Seeds of Belarusian tomatoes have been sent into space as part of an experiment conducted by scientists together with schoolchildren from Belarus and Russia, BelTA learned from the Roscosmos State Corporation.
On the evening of 20 August, a Soyuz-2.1b rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and placed the Bion-M biosatellite into orbit. The satellite's flight program includes over 30 experiments. One of them is titled "To Space with Your Own Tomato." This experiment is being conducted based on an agreement signed in early August between the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences and three schools: Gymnasium No. 1 in Ivie, School No. 1980 in Moscow, and School No. 9 in Minusinsk.
Throughout the expedition, the seeds will be attached to the exterior of the biosatellite and will only be retracted inside during landing to protect them from high temperatures. After returning from space, they will be sent back to the schools for study and cultivation. This experiment will help understand how microgravity and the low temperatures of space affect seed germination. The cities participating in the experiment were not chosen by chance: Ivie and Minusinsk are unofficially known as the "tomato capitals." According to experts, some of the best tomato varieties in Belarus and Russia are cultivated here.
The biosatellite will spend 30 days in space and return to Earth on 19 September. Onboard are also 75 mice, approximately 1,500 fruit flies (Drosophila), cell cultures, plants, and samples of cereals, legumes, and industrial crops, and also fungi, lichens, cellular materials, and plant seeds cultivated from those that had previously flown on earlier research satellites.
On the evening of 20 August, a Soyuz-2.1b rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and placed the Bion-M biosatellite into orbit. The satellite's flight program includes over 30 experiments. One of them is titled "To Space with Your Own Tomato." This experiment is being conducted based on an agreement signed in early August between the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences and three schools: Gymnasium No. 1 in Ivie, School No. 1980 in Moscow, and School No. 9 in Minusinsk.
Throughout the expedition, the seeds will be attached to the exterior of the biosatellite and will only be retracted inside during landing to protect them from high temperatures. After returning from space, they will be sent back to the schools for study and cultivation. This experiment will help understand how microgravity and the low temperatures of space affect seed germination. The cities participating in the experiment were not chosen by chance: Ivie and Minusinsk are unofficially known as the "tomato capitals." According to experts, some of the best tomato varieties in Belarus and Russia are cultivated here.
The biosatellite will spend 30 days in space and return to Earth on 19 September. Onboard are also 75 mice, approximately 1,500 fruit flies (Drosophila), cell cultures, plants, and samples of cereals, legumes, and industrial crops, and also fungi, lichens, cellular materials, and plant seeds cultivated from those that had previously flown on earlier research satellites.
The goal of the project is to study how living organisms withstand flight on a high-latitude orbit, where the level of cosmic radiation is one-third higher than on the orbit of the International Space Station.
Follow us on:
