What Legume should we send to Space?
It’s spring, and time to grow some plants! You and your students can do this at home, and there is no cost for this design challenge. A computer and internet connection are helpful but are optional for your K-16 students. Easy lessons to track student progress can be completed in 1-2 weeks in a Distance Learning Environment.
What would you plant in your Martian garden? Could your research help feed the world?
Help us select the next research plant that is sent to the International Space Station in February 2021!
Legumes have an amazing relationship with a bacteria called Rhizobium. Through a symbiotic relationship, legumes and Rhizobia are a part of natural fertilizer through the fixation of nitrogen. If we were to plant a Martian garden, we will need a rich source of fertilizer. How do living things behave in microgravity, or on other worlds?
The knowledge gained is just not for Mars or the Moon, it’s to help us right here on Earth too.
You can help research the best plant to feed people all over the world! The United Nations has Sustainable Development Goals. This investigation is focused on three of them: Zero Hunger, Gender Equality, and Quality Education. Join schools from Canada, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, the United States as we begin this unique investigation.
This Phase I of the Leguminaut Challenge has a live YouTube session every Friday with amazing guest speakers. Optional lesson plans and assignments for the Challenge are available at no cost. In July, we will begin Phase II – extending the challenge to help us find the best method to grow nitrogen-fixing nodules on these plants. Phase III in the fall will have teachers and students working with ExoLab directly as they prepare for their mission.
Tell your colleagues about this expanded FREE mission that begins on the first day of Spring, with Phase I ending on June 12, 2020. Submissions to support your favorite legume are accepted in any media and format. Younger students may draw or write something in support of their choice, while older students will have an opportunity to support their choice through research.
Whether you would like an exciting project to wrap up the school year, or create an amazing experience for your students next school year, we invite you to join us.
It’s a new world. Come join us!
Choose your Path…
Pathway Comparison
Simple and Easy | Challenge Research | |
---|---|---|
ExoLab | X | |
Experiment Supplies | X | X |
Platform Access (Leguminaut Lessons) | X | X |
Platform Access (Complete ExoLab Lessons) | X | |
Platform Access (Connected to the ISS Live) | X | |
Time Commitment | 1-2 weeks | 1 year |
Live Weekly Conference | X | X |
Ground Trials | X | X |
Professional Development (Summer 2020 - 1 week) | X | |
Launch Watch Party: ExoLab-8 • Feb 2021 | X | |
Post Analysis: RNA Sequencing | X | |
Co-Investigator Acknowledgment | X | |
ExoLab-8 Completion Certificate | X | |
ExoLab-8 Flight Patch | X | |
Cost: | Free | $1299 |
Sign Up | Sign Up |
Choose your legume team

Alfalfa
(Medicago sativa)
Team Lead
Renée Gamba
Providence, Rhode Island


Cowpea
(Vigna unguiculata)
Team Lead

Clover Red/White
(Trifolium pratense/repens)
Team Lead
Michael Wilkinson
Bronx, New York


Soybean
(Glycine max)
Team Lead
Dianea Phillips
Quebec, Canada


Adzuki
(Vigna angularis)
Team Lead
Gil Cauthorn
Osaka, Japan


Chickpea
(Cicer arietinum)
Team Lead
Lauren Parker
Fort Worth, Texas


Lentil
(Lens culinaris)
Team Lead
Steve Jones
Millton, Georgia


Mungbean
(Vigna radiata)
Team Lead
Mary Vaughn
Tampa, Flordia


Garden pea
(Pisum sativum)
Team Lead
Cee Gould
San Diego, California
From "K to Gray", Magnitude.io can develop a bespoke interplanetary experience for your country, state, or district. Schedule time with us to discuss how we might help foster capabilities and skills for the next generation on Earth and Beyond for deployment in 2024/25. View some of our projects.