What Legume should we use in Space?

What would you plant in your Martian garden?

Help us select the next research plant that is sent to the International Space Station in February 2021!

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.

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 two of them: Ending Hunger, and Quality Education. Join schools from around the world such as 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 as we determine the next legume to go to space. Optional lesson plans and assignments for the Challenge are available at no cost. In May, we will begin Phase II – extending the challenge to help us find the best medium to grow these plants. Phase III in autumn will be the start of ground trials to validate our choice.

Tell your colleagues about this expanded FREE mission that begins on the first day of Spring, with Phase I ending on May 15. 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.

It’s a new world. Come join us!