Kai Rasmussen — Nov 14th 2019
from a NASA PRESS RELEASE: Jess Bunchek, an associate scientist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, observes plant cultivars inside the Veggie growth chamber in the Space Station Processing Facility prior to harvesting them on Sept. 30, 2019, for a science verification test (SVT). This SVT will study the potential of three plants –… Read More
Hans Uy — May 1st 2019
If you’re like me, you have dreams of one day launching into space and landing on Mars, but at the same time, you can’t bear to part with the culinary delicacies Earth has to offer. So what will future Mars astronauts and space colonists eat? Let’s first consider what astronauts currently enjoy on the ISS.… Read More
Aidan Moore — Mar 4th 2019
Do you have issues growing plants? Many people struggle to even keep a houseplant alive, let alone a whole garden. Countless books have been written on how to care for everything from sunflowers to trees, and one major assumption is that plants will be raised on earth. There are no instructional books on growing plants… Read More
Kai Rasmussen — Feb 24th 2019
Our first shirt of 2019 is “Royalty”, and here’s the photoshoot. I chose two researchers, Ruby Kleijwegt, and Jon Lombardino, to model the shirts. Beyond their connection to astrobotany, both Ruby and Jon work in science education and outreach, which happens to be our major focus for 2019-2020. Ruby Kleijwegt Ruby is an astrophysics major… Read More
Kai Rasmussen — Feb 19th 2019
February 19th 2019, marks the 2 year anniversary of astrobotany.com. I’d just like to take this moment to observe some of the accomplishments we have made as a website and community since last February. I’m also going to briefly outline our focus for 2019 through early 2020. by the numbers This year saw 6,440 unique… Read More
Kai Rasmussen — Jan 17th 2019
Welcome to Astrobotany Answers, a segment where Kai Rasmussen (AKA Young Mark Watney) tries to answer email questions to the best of his abilities. Let’s open the mail bag and see what’s up today. Hey Kai, My name is Stephen. I am a big fan! (Though I just found out who you were a couple… Read More
Kai Rasmussen — Jan 6th 2019
China is poised to take an astrobotany first- growing plants on the dark side of the moon. The Chang’e-4 spacecraft recently made headlines for being the first spacecraft to land on the “dark side of the moon”, and now we’re making it a headline here on astrobotany.com, because it’s carrying some very, very important cargo.… Read More
Kai Rasmussen — Nov 19th 2018
Hi y’all, Here at astrobotany, I’ve teamed up with fellow researcher and good friend Jon Lombardino to make a… podcast! In episode 1 we talk about the history and background of growing plants in space. Enjoy! – Kai
Kai Rasmussen — Oct 31st 2018
It’s that spooky time of year again- a great time of year when the leaves change, pumpkins grow, and nights turn cool and crisp. Astrobotany.com wants to wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween, and celebrate the fact that this month, October 2018, yielded our highest amount of visitors to the site. That’s over 900… Read More
Kai Rasmussen — Oct 21st 2018
The fact of the matter is: if you study plants in space- you’re going to eventually be studying fungi in space. There is a very important relationship between a plant and a fungus that farmers, botanists, and plant enthusiasts all pay close attention to. And now it’s one that astrobotanists are also closing in on. … Read More