NASA and Park Seed: Seeds in Space
12.5 Million Tomato Seeds Were Stranded in Space for Six Years. Here's What Happened When They Came Home.
In 1984, Park Seed loaded 12.5 million Rutgers California Supreme tomato seeds onto a NASA satellite and watched them launch into orbit aboard Space Shuttle Challenger. The plan was simple: retrieve them after one year, hand them to students, and find out what extended space exposure had done to their ability to grow.
Then the Challenger disaster grounded every shuttle mission in the program.
The satellite, NASA's Long Duration Exposure Facility, was stranded. For 69 months, nearly six years, those seeds circled Earth more than 32,000 times, exposed to solar radiation, cosmic rays, and zero gravity. No one knew what would be left when they finally came home.
When Space Shuttle Columbia retrieved the satellite on January 20, 1990, the question every plant scientist wanted answered was the same one any gardener would ask: will they still grow?
The Experiment That Almost Didn't Return
The LDEF was a massive cylindrical satellite packed with experimental materials and biological samples, deployed from Challenger on mission STS-41C with plans for a one-year orbit. Park Seed contributed the tomato seeds for the mission, Rutgers California Supreme, chosen for uniformity and germination consistency. The seeds were sealed in canisters and affixed to the satellite's structure.
The Challenger disaster occurred in January 1986. All future shuttle missions were grounded. What was designed as a one-year experiment became a nearly six-year one by default.
No one could predict what the seeds would be like when Columbia finally retrieved them. Had radiation destroyed their viability? Had their DNA mutated? Or would they still sprout?
Did the Space Seeds Grow?
Yes! And the scale of how that was confirmed is still remarkable.
NASA partnered with Park Seed and science educators to launch one of the largest science outreach programs in U.S. history: SEEDS: A Celebration of Science. Over 132,000 educational kits went out to more than 40,000 schools across all 50 states. Each kit included the returned space-exposed seeds alongside identical control seeds that had spent those same six years in cold storage at Park Seed's facility in Greenwood, South Carolina.
Over the next two years, more than 3 million students planted both sets side by side, observed, and recorded what happened. Elementary classrooms. College labs. Every state in the country. Not a simulation but a real NASA experiment generating real data.
Student researchers reported:
- Germination rates between space seeds and control seeds were nearly identical
- Some space seeds sprouted slightly faster than the Earth-stored controls
- No harmful mutations were detected
- In some cases, space storage appeared to preserve seed viability as well as or better than Earth storage
Students became researchers. Teachers became facilitators of hands-on science. And the seeds, after orbiting Earth 32,000 times, grew.
1997: The MARS Program
Following the LDEF project, NASA and Park Seed designed a more complex experiment.
The MARS program (Mission to America's Remarkable Students) compared tomato seeds stored in three extreme environments simultaneously: aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis, inside a manned underwater research habitat, and in Earth-based cold storage as a control. After retrieval from all three environments, 300,000 seed packets went out to classrooms for another round of student-led research.
Students compared germination rates, plant health, and growth across all three conditions. Teachers across the country reported higher engagement and increased interest in biology. The finding held across every environment: seeds are more resilient than almost any other biological material tested under extreme conditions.
2006: Basil Orbits the International Space Station
The third collaboration sent 1 million Cinnamon Basil seeds to the International Space Station as part of NASA's MISSE-3 and MISSE-4 experiments (Materials International Space Station Experiment) a long-term study of how biological and synthetic materials held up under extended space exposure on the exterior of the ISS.
After orbiting Earth, the basil seeds were returned to Park Seed, repackaged, and distributed to students for further experimentation. They sprouted normally and produced healthy, aromatic plants.
The same Cinnamon Basil variety that flew on that mission is still in the Park Seed catalog today.
The Legacy
Across three missions spanning more than two decades, the numbers are worth sitting with:
- More than 4 million students participated in real experiments using Park Seed-supplied seeds
- Seeds were exposed to cumulative space conditions across 11-plus years of missions
- Over 400,000 classroom kits and seed packets distributed to schools nationwide
- Teachers received support materials, lesson plans, and NASA collaboration resources
- Many students reported choosing STEM careers because of their participation
For NASA, the experiments advanced understanding of seed viability under extreme conditions. For Park Seed, a company that has been shipping seeds since 1868, it was a rare opportunity to support scientific exploration and science education on a national scale.
Can You Grow These Varieties Today?
Cinnamon Basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Cinnamon') — yes. The exact variety that orbited Earth in 2006 is still available. It's a non-GMO basil with a warm, spicy fragrance distinct from standard sweet basil. Good for containers, kitchen gardens, and cut herb arrangements.
Rutgers California Supreme Tomato — no longer in the assortment. For a reliable slicer with similar garden performance, Park's Whopper CR Improved II offers medium-large fruit, crack resistance, and consistent results.
FAQ: Seeds in Space
Can seeds actually survive in space?
Yes. Across three separate NASA missions, Park Seed-supplied tomato and basil seeds survived extended space exposure and germinated at rates nearly identical to Earth-stored controls.
Did the space tomato seeds grow differently than regular seeds?
Not in any harmful way. Student researchers across more than 40,000 schools found no significant difference in germination rates, and no harmful mutations were detected. In some cases the space seeds sprouted slightly faster than the Earth-stored controls.
What is the LDEF experiment?
NASA's Long Duration Exposure Facility was a satellite launched April 6, 1984 aboard Space Shuttle Challenger to test how biological and synthetic materials responded to extended space exposure. Park Seed contributed 12.5 million tomato seeds. The satellite was stranded for nearly six years after the Challenger disaster and retrieved by Space Shuttle Columbia on January 20, 1990.
What variety of tomato seeds went to space?
Rutgers California Supreme, a slicing tomato selected for its uniformity and germination consistency. The variety is no longer in the Park Seed catalog.
What basil variety did NASA use on the Space Station?
Cinnamon Basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Cinnamon'), contributed by Park Seed for the 2006 MISSE-3 and MISSE-4 experiments. It's still available from Park Seed today.
How many students participated in the Seeds in Space experiments?
More than 4 million students across all 50 states participated in NASA-backed seed science experiments using Park Seed varieties across the three missions.
What was the SEEDS program?
SEEDS stands for Space Exposed Experiment Developed for Students — a NASA education initiative that used the returned space-exposed seeds as the basis for real classroom experiments across the country.
Could astronauts grow food from space-exposed seeds on a future mission?
The student experiment data suggests seeds can survive extended space exposure and still germinate normally. NASA's ongoing research into space agriculture builds on findings like these.
The same Cinnamon Basil that orbited Earth is sitting in a packet in our catalog right now.
Sources
- Park Seed internal records and NASA collaboration documentation, 1984–2006
- NASA Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) mission overview: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/history/ldef.html
- NASA LDEF mission STS-41C (Challenger, April 6, 1984) and STS-32 retrieval (Columbia, January 20, 1990): https://www.nasa.gov
- NASA MISSE-3 and MISSE-4 experiment overview: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html
- SEEDS: A Celebration of Science education program, NASA/Park Seed partnership, 1990–1992: referenced in Park Seed company records