In 2017, a fully automated facility for plant bioscience research was launched to the International Space Station: What NASA studied in space?

In 2017, a fully automated facility for plant bioscience research was launched to the International Space Station, giving scientists a controlled environment to study how plants grow away from Earth. The Advanced Plant Habitat, or APH, was delivered to the International Space Station on April 18, 2017. NASA describes it as the largest fully automated plant growth research facility used for plant bioscience research on the station. The facility was installed in the Japanese Experiment Module, known as Kibo. It occupies the lower half of an EXPRESS Rack and one powered International Sub-rack Interface Standard drawer. The setup provides an enclosed growth chamber where researchers can control conditions around plants while the facility operates with limited crew involvement.

What the Advanced Plant Habitat was built to do?

The Advanced Plant Habitat was designed to study plant biology in microgravity. On Earth, gravity provides one of the main physical cues that influence how plants grow. Removing that cue allows researchers to study how plants respond to a different environment.


NASA uses spaceflight as a way to examine plant growth, development and adaptation. The research also has a practical purpose. Future missions to the Moon, Mars and other destinations may need systems that can produce fresh food during long periods away from Earth.

The need for such research comes from the limits of transporting all food from Earth. Longer missions require food systems that can work for extended periods. Plants may also contribute to oxygen production, water recycling and other life-support functions.

NASA developed the Advanced Plant Habitat and Veggie as larger plant research facilities for the International Space Station. Earlier plant systems had smaller areas for crop production. The larger facilities were designed to support studies involving crop production, plant-to-plant interactions and relationships between plants, humans and microbes.

In 2017, a fully automated facility for plant bioscience research was launched to the International Space Station

The Advanced Plant Habitat works as a closed-loop plant life-support system. Its growth chamber can maintain controlled environmental conditions for plant experiments lasting up to 135 days. NASA says the facility contains more than 180 sensors, including imaging capabilities, and can monitor and control conditions from the ground.

The sensors can track factors such as:

• Temperature
• Humidity
• Carbon dioxide
• Light intensity
• Light spectrum
• Water availability
• Root-zone conditions
• Plant growth

The system was designed to reduce the amount of time astronauts need to spend on plant experiments. Crew members can install the science, add water and carry out required maintenance. Researchers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center can monitor data and control the facility from Earth.

The system also uses LED lighting and a porous clay growing material. The setup provides water, nutrients and oxygen to plant roots. NASA's original hardware documentation says the facility was designed for at least one year of continuous operation without maintenance, while individual science investigations could run for up to 135 days.

Why plants are studied in space?

Plant research on the International Space Station is linked to future human exploration. Astronauts on longer missions cannot depend entirely on regular deliveries from Earth. Fresh crops could provide food during missions, while plant-based systems could also become part of life-support systems.

Scientists also need to understand what happens to plants when they grow in microgravity. Research can examine changes in genetics, metabolism, photosynthesis, gravity sensing and plant defense responses. This information can help researchers understand the biological effects of spaceflight. It can also support the development of systems for growing crops in controlled environments.

NASA says research from the Advanced Plant Habitat can have applications on Earth as well. Findings may contribute to knowledge about crop yields, plant flavor and crops that can be cultivated under controlled conditions.

Research carried out inside the facility

Several investigations used the Advanced Plant Habitat to study different aspects of plant growth.

Plant Habitat-01: This investigation compared plants grown in space with plants grown on Earth. Researchers examined genetics, metabolism, photosynthesis and gravity sensing. The study used an integrated approach to understand how plants respond to microgravity.

Plant Habitat-02: Researchers studied radishes grown in the Advanced Plant Habitat. The investigation examined metabolic and physiological responses and looked at factors such as metabolite accumulation, flavor, enzyme activity, mineral uptake and generation time.

Plant Habitat-03: This investigation examined epigenetic adaptation to the spaceflight environment. Researchers studied whether changes developed by plants during one generation in space could be transferred to later generations.

Plant Habitat-04: The facility was used to grow New Mexico Hatch green chile peppers. The experiment examined the ability of the Advanced Plant Habitat to support pepper growth in microgravity. NASA's records say the experiment involved 48 NuMex Española Improved peppers, with harvests on days 100 and 120.

Plant Habitat-06: Researchers studied plant defense responses using tomatoes. The work examined physiological and genetic responses after defense systems were activated. Plant tissues were collected and preserved for later analysis on Earth.

What the facility means for space agriculture?

The research provides data for future space agriculture. Growing crops in space involves challenges that do not exist in the same form on Earth. Water behaves differently in microgravity. Roots also experience a different environment because gravity no longer provides the same directional cue. Light, temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide must also be controlled. The Advanced Plant Habitat allows researchers to change and monitor these factors. The data can then be compared with ground-based plant experiments.

This work is relevant to future missions that may require astronauts to grow part of their food supply. NASA's research also examines plant-associated microbes and their relationship with plants in the space environment. Such knowledge can contribute to systems for crop production, water recycling and atmosphere revitalization during long missions.

Research can also help agriculture on Earth

The purpose of the Advanced Plant Habitat is space research, but its findings may also be useful on Earth. Controlled plant experiments can show how plants respond to changes in environmental conditions. Researchers can examine plant metabolism, growth, flavor and other characteristics.

NASA has noted that results from Advanced Plant Habitat investigations could contribute to research involving crop production, agricultural yields and crops that are more stable or easier to cultivate.

The facility therefore served two research areas. One was understanding plant biology in microgravity. The other was collecting information that could be relevant to controlled agriculture on Earth.

What happens to the Advanced Plant Habitat now?

After years of supporting plant research aboard the International Space Station, the Advanced Plant Habitat is returning to Earth for eventual museum display. A 2026 mission overview reports that the facility, which supported long-duration plant biology studies, is being returned for that purpose.

The return marks a change in the facility's role. Instead of continuing its work aboard the station, the hardware will become part of a museum display and provide a physical record of space plant research.

The facility's work included experiments involving Arabidopsis, radishes, green chile peppers and tomatoes. Its research also covered genetics, epigenetics, metabolism, photosynthesis, flavor, plant defense and responses to microgravity.

Advanced Plant Habitat

• Type: International Space Station experiment and plant growth facility
• Launch: April 18, 2017
• Location: International Space Station
• Module: Japanese Experiment Module, Kibo
• Main purpose: Microgravity plant research
• Sensors: More than 180
• Experiment duration: Up to 135 days
• Operation: Controlled and monitored from Earth
• Crew role: Installation, water addition and maintenance
• Research areas: Plant biology, crop growth, genetics, metabolism, photosynthesis and plant defense
• Future use: Research to support food production during long-duration missions

The Advanced Plant Habitat became a platform for studying how plants respond when one of the main conditions of life on Earth, gravity, is changed. Its experiments provided information about plant growth and possible crop production in space.

As NASA plans research connected to the Moon and Mars, plant science remains part of the wider effort to develop systems that can support people farther from Earth. The return of the Advanced Plant Habitat to Earth will preserve a piece of that research history for museum visitors.