Experiment

Dewey's Forest Viewing Session

* All times are Japan Standard Time (JST)

A viewing session of Dewey's Forest* was held aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

*Project proposer: Shiro Matsui, Associate Professor of Kyoto City University of Art

Astronaut Noguchi has cultured the plants of Dewey's Forest since December 29, 2009 when the first water was provided to the Plant Unit of the Dewey's Forest.

The ISS astronauts held a viewing session of Dewey's Forest from 2:40 a.m. through 2:59 a.m. on March 9, 2010.

The project is designed for the ISS astronauts to grow a little garden on board Kibo so that they can compare the space garden and gardens on the Earth, and appreciate preciousness of Earth and relationship between human and nature.

During the viewing session, the ISS crew members exchanged their opinions on the space garden and gardens in their countries.

The cultivation of the Dewey's Forest garden will be terminated in a week after the viewing session. The Project proposer is planning to make an artwork using Dewey's Forest.

Special Message from Project Proposer

Growing plants in space and holding a viewing session in space would allow us to think more deeply about relation between human and nature, importance of gardens to human mental health, and our views of nature based on a gravitational background. I am grateful to Astronaut Noguchi who has grown the Dewey's Forest garden over the past two months.

Shiro Matsui, Professor of Kyoto City University of Art (Project Proposer) monitoring the Dewey's Forest opinion exchange session from the UOA at TKSC

ISS crewmembers discussing over space garden, Dewey's Forest.
(From the left: Creamer, Noguchi, Williams)

*All times are Japan Standard Time (JST)