Can a Tree Grow in Space?

Human being have been out to space and so have an assortment of animal life, however getting plant life out into space has not quite been a priority till now. Scientists are now wanting to study the effect of zero gravity on the growth of plants, especially larger plants like trees. On the International Space Station they have tried to grow young spruce trees in micro gravity.

The results show that tree seedlings of the spruce grew faster on the ISS than they would have on Earth. However the pine needles did not point downwards. This leads to the hypothesis that it is the presence of gravity that makes the pine needles point downwards on Earth. An analysis of the DNA showed that many plant genes were more active in space.

Experiments on plant life are at a very nascent stage in outer space. It will be a while before scientists are able to pin point the exact effects on larger plants grown for a long term period in micro gravity. Currently we know that in the absence of gravity roots and shoots have trouble orienting themselves in outer space. Many more science projects will need to be conducted to get a proper idea of what happens to plants in space.