Plant Research in Space Shuttle and its Challenges

The study of plant growth and development during spaceflight is very important in promoting fundamental and applied biological knowledge as well as the life support system. The purpose of this study was to investigate the scientific and technical aspects of plant experiments and designed hardware for launch. Scientific research in space flights requires scientific review of proposals, implementation methods of operations, and hardware’s related to flight conditions for sending biological samples. Various launch facilities such as space shuttles, space satellites, Mir space station, and International Space Station have been used to perform short and long-term experiments in space which have included various challenges such as launch duration, sample volume, temperature settings, indirect effects of the flight environment, data reception, etc. In addition, each launch requires the hardware development of the sample placement module according to the designed experiment. Examining the experiences gained from various launches and projects can help to improve plant research in space in the future. In this study, weightlessness application methods, designed hardware and operational and implementation challenges are investigated.