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. 2025 Jan 17;11(1):3.
doi: 10.1038/s41526-024-00451-y.

Simulated deep space exposure on seeds utilizing the MISSE flight facility

Jeffrey T Richards  1   2 , Todd E Mortenson  3 , Cory J Spern  1   4 , Timothy A Mousseau  5 , Jennifer L Gooden  1   2 , Lashelle E Spencer  1   4 , Christina L Khodadad  1   4 , Jason A Fischer  1   2 , Alexander D Meyers  1   6 , Chad K Papenfuhs  1   7 , Jeffrey G Buell  8 , Howard G Levine  1 , Dinah I Dimapilis  1 , Ye Zhang  9
Affiliations

Simulated deep space exposure on seeds utilizing the MISSE flight facility

Jeffrey T Richards et al. NPJ Microgravity. .

Abstract

The MISSE-Seed project was designed to investigate the effects of space exposure on seed quality and storage. The project tested the Multipurpose Materials International Space Station Experiment-Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) hardware as a platform for exposing biological samples to the space environment outside the International Space Station (ISS). Furthermore, it evaluated the capability of a newly designed passive sample containment canister as a suitable exposure unit for biological samples for preserving their vigor while exposing to the space environment to study multi-stressor effects. The experiment was launched to the ISS on Northrup Grumman (NG)-15. The exposure lasted eight months outside the ISS in the MISSE-FF at the Zenith position. The specimens consisted of eleven seed varieties. Temperature dataloggers and thermoluminescent dosimeters were included in each container to record environmental data. We presented here the hardware and experimental design, environmental profiles, and seed survival from post-flight germination tests.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: J.T.R., J.L.G., and J.A.F. were employed by the company AETOS Systems Inc. under the NASA LASSO II contract. T.E.M. was employed by the company Bionetics Corp. under the NASA LASSO contract. C.J.S., L.E.S., and C.L.K. were employed by Noetic Strategies, Inc., under the NASA LASSO II contract. J.G.B. was employed by Aegis Aerospace Inc. under a NASA REMIS contract. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data, in the writing of the paper, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Designs of MPEC and customized MSC panel.
a Drawing of an MPEC and b Customized MSC panel and the assembled flight panel.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Examples of germination tests of crop seeds after 21-day storage at different temperature conditions.
Photos were taken at Day 4 after the initiation of the test for red pac choi seeds (left) and Rosie pac choi seeds (right) for analysis.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Thermal test configurations and maximum temperature recorded.
a Different configurations of MPEC assembly, including C25 and C26 (two Spaceloft layers, one polyimide layer on top of one of the Spaceloft layers, and one polyimide layer at the side of MPEC), C27 (two Spaceloft layers with two polyimide layers, and one polyimide layer at the side of MPEC), C28 (two Spaceloft layers and one polyimide layer on top of one of the Spaceloft layers without side insulation), and C29 (no insulation materials) and b Maximum temperatures (°C) recorded right underneath the lid and at the center between seed packets from each individual MPEC configuration.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Recorded temperature profiles during the flight mission.
a Temperature profile inside the MPEC sample containers (note that iButtons are only able to record to −40 °C so the extent of the temperature drop may be lower than indicated). b A section of data comparing the differences among the swing side, the mount side, and inside the MPECs (note the cyclic pattern of temperature recorded every 90 min throughout the orbits of the ISS). c Time-lapse settings of each iButton data recorder in 8 MPECs (M14Z1 to M14Z8) to start recording from time 0, or at 10 min, 20 min, or 30 min delay indicated in each circle representing each iButton.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5. Post-flight germination evaluation.
a Germination test setting. b Germination rate presented as the sum of the seed numbers from three replicate plates (germinated seeds [G]/total seeds [T]) and mean ± SEM in percentage from the same three plates calculated individually. No significant difference in germination rate was found between flight and ground seeds. c Seedling total length and root length presented as mean ± SEM in centimeters (cm) from all crop seedlings harvested from the same plates presented in (b). Significant differences at p < 0.05 between flight and ground seedlings are highlighted in green for the groups with significantly longer total or root length.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6. Science integration.
a Example flight MPECs with or without insulation foams. b Fully assembled MPECs and an example of pre-assembly germination tests (mizuna). c The MISSE-Seed Panel with eight flight MPECs (* indicating the MPECs without insulation materials). d The MISSE-Seed Panel assembled with the MSC at the swing side and tested in the Aegis facility before the NG-15 launch.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7. Flight operations.
a MISSE-14 inside the JEM airlock; b, c MISSE-14 installation outside the ISS (blue arrow pointing to the MISSE-14 payload); and d MSCs packaged for return. All photos courtesy of NASA/the ISS Program Office.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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