He is also not the only researcher working on exposing plants to a higher radiation level than previously studied. Porterfield, who is one of the scientists working on the NASA-Experture of Moon Vegetable Growth Mission, which will go to the Moon with Artemis III in 2027-we do not know “almost nothing” about the impact of exposure to radiation beyond low land orbit. Understanding how variability affects plant radiation will be a “critical goal” for leaf mission.
“For 30 years we have been trapped in a lower orbit and we have not developed many basic research, which we must go to a deep space, where you find galactic cosmic radiation,” he says. “There may be unexpected answers from this variable source of radiation. Plant reactions to these radiation problems will be important for future agricultural systems on the moon.”
After the return of Mayasat-1 for the next two years, Radiišič and his team will cooperate with the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia to distinguish generations of clones from space seeds to examine genetic changes and plant adaptations, including “changes in cannabinoid profiles”-how many CBD, THC and other compounds become developed. The second phase of their examination then includes simulation of Martian soil conditions and crop plants in controlled low gravity environments on Earth.
Lumír Ondřej Hanuš, a chemist at Palacký University Olomouc in the Czech Republic and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has been studying hemp plant since the 1970s. He believes that the research advisor of the project believes that after returning the seeds there are “many possibilities” of scientific investigations.
In addition to potential genetic and epigenetic changes, the GROW Martian syndrome will look for structural and physiological changes, such as the differences in the size of the leaves, chlorophyll content, root architecture, photosynthetic speed and water consumption. They will examine what happens after stressors, such as diseases, and analyze the activity of enzymatic hormones and secondary metabolites, which can lead to the identification of up-to-date compounds.
“Regardless of whether there are changes or not, both results will be important for the future, so we know how to grow marijuana in the cosmic environment,” adds Radišič.
However, we are still far from hemp growing on Mars or any plant. Microgravity, extreme temperatures, lack of nutrients and soil toxins do not constitute favorable conditions for cultivation.
“We will have to adapt to the environment on Mars and slowly adapt our plants so that they can survive,” says Petra Knaus, general director of Genoplant. “For now, we think it will be possible [to grow plants] In a closed system container with adapted conditions. “In future missions, Genoplant is developing a up-to-date cosmic cosmic in this style, scheduled for its first re -entry test in 2027, which will allow researchers to grow seeds in space and monitor them for several years.
While marijuana can potentially be a superprop for cosmic age, back on earth, is still considered mainly a recreational medicine (although commonly used for medicinal purposes), which prevented regulators and researchers from full recognition of its scientific potential. Hanuš is the optimist that the arrangements from the project, whatever they look like, can disperse part of this stigma and accelerate its scientific acceptance.
“If interesting results are published, it can accelerate our understanding of hemp,” he says. “This is a very important plant, which in my opinion has a great future if humanity ever goes into space and begins life on another planet.”