In a space station , astronauts eat preserved food taken with them from Earth. There is a plan to cultivate plants in the space station in the future to produce food for these astronauts staying in the station for a long period of time. To find out conditions under which plants grow in space , comparative experiments are carried out both in the space station and on Earth. The cultivation device for this experiment is called MicroLADA.
A program , having students from different parts of the world participate in these experiments , is going on with a view to attracting their interest in science and nurturing international exchange. Mr. Sugimoto , an associate professor at the research Institue for Bioresearches Okayama university, acts as a coodinator of the program. Kurashiki Minami Senior high School, the only participate from Japan , takes part in this program under his guidance.
We cultivate peas in each country under the same conditions as in the space station. Then we exchange the observation date and our opinios with each other.