Asian Herb in Space

(The third project of the Space Seeds for Asian Future)

Asian Herb in Space (AHiS) is an activity of the Asian Beneficial Collaboration through Kibo Utilization initiative (Kibo-ABC) under the Space Environment Utilization Working Group (SEUWG) of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF). AHiS is the third project of the Space Seeds for Asian Future program (SSAF).

The purpose of AHiS is to provide students and young researchers in the Asia-Pacific region with an opportunity to learn about space biology. AHiS also aims to promote understanding and gain experience regarding the utilization of Kibo by participating organizations.

News

March 26, 2021 Mission-1 growth experiment was successfully completed on March 18, 2021. (English/Japanese)

February 16, 2021 Mission-1 growth experiment was begun in the ISS/Kibo on February 16, 2021.

September 1, 2020 AHiS News: Australian Ambassador gives JAXA seeds to be sent into space! (English/Japanese)

Project overview

AHiS consists of two missions.

Mission-1: Space growth experiment mission

In the first mission, basil seeds will be grown in the Kibo module and returned for analysis by Japanese and Malaysian researchers. Participating organizations will give students and young researchers an opportunity to conduct a ground control experiment using the basil seeds provided by JAXA.

Mission-2: Space travel seed mission

In the second mission, herb seeds provided by participating organizations will be stored in the Kibo module then returned to the participating organizations for research and education purposes.

Project schedule

December 2014	Proposal of the AHiS project by Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA)
2015-2019	Discussion and planning among Kibo-ABC members Ground preliminary experiments by MYSA and JAXA
Until September 2020	Preparation of the flight items
October 2020	Transportation of the flight items from JAXA to NASA
December 7, 2020	Launch to the ISS/Kibo on SpX-21
February-March, 2021	Space experiment in the Kibo module (Japanese astronaut Soichi NOGUCHI will conduct the experiment.)
TBD in 2021	Launch of additional seeds to the ISS/Kibo on SpX-22
TBD in 2021	Return to the ground on SpX-22 Post flight analysis of experiment samples Transportation of seeds from JAXA to each Kibo-ABC member
2021-2022	Activities using the returned seeds in the Asia-Pacific region

Mission-1 growth experiment results and Messages from Astronaut

• February 16, 2021 (Day 0: Start of experiment)
• February 26, 2021 (Day 10: Water supply and Observation)
• March 9, 2021 (Day 21: Water supply and Observation)
• March 18, 2021 (Day 30: End of experiment) New
• Analysis reports from researchers

Materials for Research and Education

1. Why Herbs? The significance of growing herbs in space
2. Scent of herbs
3. How to grow Sweet Basil
4. Let's experiment with Herb‼

Participating organizations and their activities

1. Australian Space Agency (Australia)
   (Australian AHiS project is operated by One Giant Leap Australia Foundation.)
   Mission-1 & Mission-2
2. National Museum of Science and Technology (Bangladesh)
3. National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (Indonesia)
4. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Japan)
5. Malaysian Space Agency (Malaysia)
6. Nepal Scientific Activities and Research Center (Nepal)
7. New Zealand Astrobiology Network (New Zealand)
8. Singapore Space and Technology Limited (Singapore)
9. National Space Organization (Taiwan)
10. National Science and Technology Development Agency (Thailand)
11. UAE Space Agency (United Arab Emirates)
12. Space Technology Institute, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (Vietnam)