February 19th 2021 marked the 4 year anniversary of astrobotany.com.

Hi all,

I am incredibly humbled that astrobotany.com has been up and running for four years. I am in awe, and extremely proud of how much knowledge the site has accumulated in its short time on the internet. Four years ago, this website was little more than an idea. The domain was purchased on February 19th, 2017 when I was still a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At the time, I had no idea what to do with the site. I could never believe how many people we would reach, entertain and educate about the emerging discipline of spaceflight plant biology.

To date, the site has been visited by over 26,000 people, with just under 9,000 people visiting this year alone. Our traffic grows year over year as the people of Earth continue to grow more curious about plants in space. Our visitors come from all over the world to get the answers to the tough questions: “What plants have been grown in space?”, “What happens to plants in space” and the timeless: “Can you grow weed in space?“. We love to answer astrobotany questions- and we are constantly working on expanding our resources to meet the ever growing interest in our field of science.

Looking to the year ahead, we have plans to upgrade the site layout and to continue to provide updates on developments in the field. This includes chronicling the stories of astrobotanists: captured through interviews and articles published here on the site. I am so excited for some of the planned launches this year. Behind the scenes, we are focusing our efforts on becoming financially sustainable. I truly believe the site can become a full time project for all of our contributors and I am grateful for your continued support. If you love astrobotany, consider grabbing something from the shop.

By far, the highlight of my year has been welcoming fellow astrobotanists Sam Humphrey and Gil Cauthorn aboard as contributors to astrobotany.com. They keep me focused and have both been critical in keeping the website moving forward. I am hoping to keep the momentum going. Sam and Gil are both very passionate about their work and they provide great resources for aspiring astrobotanists.

2020 was a year of extraordinary challenge for the people of Earth. Trust in science is more important than ever. Accessibility in science is more important than ever. Sam, Gil and I are all so grateful for the tens of thousands of people who have used astrobotany.com as a tool to learn about growing plants in space. We have big plans coming up, so stay on the look out.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you, and-

Let’s grow plants in space.

Kai Rasmussen