A little hemp in space

The U.S. company Redwire Corporation is preparing to grow hemp on the International Space Station.

The Redwire greenhouse could be launched next spring. According to the company, it is the only commercial plant-growing platform capable of growing plants from seed to maturity in space.

During this project, Dewey Scientific, a Redwire client, will grow industrial hemp in the greenhouse during a 60-day experiment for a gene expression study. Dewey Scientific is a cannabis-focused company that seeks to increase crop efficiency and yield while reducing inputs.

«We work at the intersection of classical selection and molecular biology,» the company says.

According to Redwire, the hemp experiment is just the first step.

«Redwire Greenhouse will expand opportunities for scientific discovery to improve plant production on Earth and enable essential research for plant production in space, benefiting future long-duration crewed spaceflights,» said declared Dave Reed of Redwire.

«In addition to improving crop production on our own planet, this will also be essential in space as humanity heads for the stars—not only for food, but also for the recovery of oxygen and water.»

«Increasing the pace of research on plant production in space, through commercially developed capabilities, will be important for providing essential information for NASA’s Artemis missions and beyond,» said Mr. Reed.

As part of the Artemis program, NASA is collaborating with commercial and international partners to establish a long-term, sustainable presence on the Moon in preparation for missions to Mars.

This isn't Redwire's first time working with the ISS. Its PONDS (Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System) devices, developed in partnership with Tupperware Brands, are already in operation on the space station. PONDS was developed for NASA’s vegetable-growing system, called Veggie.

Nor will this be the first time hemp has been taken into space. Officially, this happened in 2019 when hemp seeds grown in Kentucky were taken to the ISS to assess the seeds’ stability after prolonged exposure to microgravity conditions.