In 2018, the German Space Agency (DLR) and ESA launched 2kg of wildflower seeds (containing 61 species) to the International Space Station as part of astronaut Alexander Gerst’s Horizons mission.
Species list:
The seeds were part of an educational program called Space Seeds, or Earth Guardian Seeds. In spring 2020, the seeds were distributed to more than 400 schools across Germany. School children sowed the seeds, alongside a control set that had never left Earth, to see whether they had been changed by their trip to space. Along the way, they learned about the importance of biodiversity and conservation.
Ernst Rieger from Swabia in southwest Germany has been developing wildflower and grass mixtures for flowering areas for 35 years; he provided the seed mixtures for the space station.
“We hope that the Space Seeds will raise students’ awareness of biodiversity and native wildflowers and their important role in pollinating insects, and the urgent need for action on food security. Because about 40 percent of our plants for food production have to be pollinated.”
There’s almost no English-language information on the Space Seeds experiment. Still, Alexandra Herzog, coordinator for school and youth projects at DLR Space Administration, has confirmed that it was extremely popular in Germany. So popular, in fact, that it’s running again this year.
The seeds for Space Seeds 2.0 were launched to the ISS on SpaceX CRS 23 in August 2021. They’re packed into five 400g packages, heat-sealed inside multi-layered bags. German astronaut Matthias Maurer joined them in space in November 2021 as part of SpaceX crew 3. He may bring the seeds home when Crew 3 depart the station later this month. They need to be back in Germany for June/July to be
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