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Astrobotany is an applied sub-discipline of botany that is the study of plants in space environments. It is a branch of astrobiology and botany.

Russian astronomer Gavriil Adrianovich Tikhov is considered to be the father of astrobotany. Research in the field has been conducted both with growing Earth plants in space environments and searching for botanical life on other planets.

History
Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was one of the first people to discuss using photosynthetic life as a resource in space agricultural systems. Speculation about plant cultivation in space has been around since the early 20th century. The term astrobotany was first used in 1945 by Russian astronomer and astrobiology pioneer Gavriil Adrianovich Tikhov.

Extraterrestrial vegetation
The search for vegetation on other planets began with Gavriil Tikhov, who attempted to detect extraterrestrial vegetation via analyzing the wavelengths of a planet's reflected light, or planetshine. Photosynthetic pigments, like chlorophylls on Earth, reflect light spectra that spike in the range of 700-750 nm. This pronounced spike is referred to as "vegetation's red edge." It was thought that observing this spike in a reading of planetshine would signal a surface covered in green vegetation. Searching for extraterrestrial vegetation has been outcompeted by the search for microbial life on other planets or mathematical models to predict the viability of life on exoplanets.

Growing plants in space
The study of plant response in space environments is another subject of astrobotany research. In space, plants encounter unique environmental stressors not found on Earth including microgravity, ionizing radiation, and oxidative stress. Experiments have shown that these stressors cause genetic alterations in plant metabolism pathways. Changes in genetic expression have shown that plants respond on a molecular level to a space environment. Astrobotanical research has been applied to the challenges of creating life support systems both in space and on other planets, primarily Mars.

Plants grown in space
Main article: Plants in space Plants that have been grown in space include:


 * Arabidopsis (Thale cress)
 * Bok choy (Tokyo Bekana) (Chinese cabbage)
 * Tulips
 * Kalanchoe
 * Flax
 * Onions, peas, radishes, lettuce, wheat, garlic, cucumbers, parsley, potato, and dill
 * Cinnamon basil
 * Cabbage
 * Zinnia hybrida ("Profusion" var.)
 * Red romaine lettuce ("Outredgeous" var.)
 * Sunflower
 * Ceratopteris richardii

Some plants, like tobacco and morning glory, have not been directly grown in space but have been subjected to space environments and then germinated and grown on Earth.

Life support in space
Algae was the first candidate for human-plant life support systems. Initial research in the 1950s and 1960s used Chlorella, Anacystis, Synechocystis, Scenedesmus, Synechococcus, and Spirulina species to study how photosynthetic organisms could be used for O2 and CO2 cycling in closed systems. Later research through Russia’s BIOS program and USA’s CELSS program investigated the use of higher plants to fulfill the roles of atmospheric regulators, waste recyclers, and food for sustained missions. The crops most commonly studied include starch crops such as wheat, potato, and rice; protein-rich crops such as soy, peanut, and common bean; and a host of other nutrition-enhancing crops like lettuce, strawberry, and kale. Tests for optimal growth conditions in closed systems have required research both into environmental parameters necessary for particular crops (such as differing light periods for short-day versus long-day crops) and cultivars that are a best-fit for life support system growth.

Tests of human-plant life support systems in space are relatively few compared to similar testing performed on Earth and micro-gravity testing on plant growth in space. The first life support systems testing performed in space included gas exchange experiments with wheat, potato, and giant duckweed (Spyrodela polyrhiza). Smaller scale projects, sometimes referred to as “salad machines”, have been used to provide fresh produce to astronauts as a dietary supplement. Future studies have been planned to investigate the effects of keeping plants on the mental well-being of humans in confined environments.

More recent research has been focused on extrapolating these life support systems to other planets, primarily Martian bases. Interlocking closed systems called “modular biospheres” have been prototyped to support four- to five-person crews on the Martian surface. These encampments are designed as inflatable greenhouses and bases. They are anticipated to use Martian soils for growth substrate and wastewater treatment, and crop cultivars developed specifically for extraplanetary life. There has also been discussion of using the Martian moon Phobos as a resources base, potentially mining frozen water and carbon dioxide from the surface and eventually using hollowed craters for autonomous growth chambers that can be harvested during mining missions.

Astrobotany research used in traditional horticulture
Astrobotany research has yielded information useful to other areas of botany and horticulture. Extensive research into hydroponics systems was fielded successfully by NASA in both the CELSS and ALS programs, as well as the effects of increased photoperiod and light intensity for various crop species. Research also led to optimization of yields beyond what had been previously achieved by indoor cropping systems. Intensive studying of gas exchange and plant volatile concentrations in closed systems led to increased understanding of plant response to extreme levels of gases such as carbon dioxide and ethylene. Usage of LEDs in closed life support systems research also prompted the increased use of LEDs in indoor growing operations.

In popular culture
Astrobotany has had several acknowledgements in science fiction literature and film.
 * The book and film The Martian by Andy Weir highlights the heroic survival of botanist Mark Watney, who uses his horticultural background to grow potatoes for food while trapped on Mars.
 * The film Avatar features an exobiologist, Dr. Grace Augustine, who wrote the first astrobotanical text on the flora of Pandora.
 * Charles Sheffield's Proteus Unbound mentions the use of algae suspended in a giant hollow "planet" as a biofuel, creating a closed energy system.

History
Creator of Astrobotany -> https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-35983-5_8

Halstead T.W. & Dutcher F.R. (1984). Status and Prospects, Annals of Botany, 54 (supp3) 3-18.

Paul A.L., Wheeler R.M., Levine L.G. & Ferl R.J. (2013). Fundamental Plant Biology Enabled by The Space Shuttle, American Journal of Botany, 100 (1) 226-234. DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1200338

more about Tikhov -> https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=nEqhom6fcG8C&oi=fnd&pg=PA86&dq=astrobotany&ots=gly82MG6EK&sig=0cbpZmtCelvuT8OoEGosevoK-so#v=onepage&q=astrobotany&f=false

paper about the "new" science of astrobotany -> https://journals.co.za/content/sajsci/56/10/AJA00382353_1418

review article on astrobiology -> https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-astrobiology/article/elements-for-the-history-of-a-long-quest-search-for-life-in-the-universe/E77E6AC3D8075C9ACDA40AE81C6CABE3

astrobio bibliography -> https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ted_Peters/publication/258816353_Would_the_Discovery_of_ETI_Provoke_a_Religious_Crisis/links/55123e3b0cf20bfdad50ec24.pdf

review of research for space plants -> https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/V1-532.html

observations of some NASA studies -> https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20130011164.pdf

zeoponics in space -> https://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/40479(204)106

Current research
Morning glory seeds in space -> http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/ast.2015.1457

BLiSS and other plant-growing projects; space horticulture

Terraforming

Astrobotany in popular culture
https://badgerherald.com/news/2017/11/07/astrobotany-gets-a-new-look-new-research-generates-fashion-line/

http://astrobotany.com/

The Martian