Get ready for launch, it’s time for the latest edition of Gardeners off World!
21.08.2023 - 11:50 / theunconventionalgardener.com / Emma Doughty
Hello, and welcome to Gardeners Off World! I am writing this from lockdown, and you’re probably reading it from lockdown, too. The good news for UK gardeners is that it’s still OK for most people to do some gardening – and that includes people who grow their food on an allotment.
Humans aren’t the only living things that will be exploring the solar system: where we go, so do fresh edibles. They are crucial for life, and will certainly be part of our future space explorations. #spacegarden #chickensinspace #gardenofthefuture
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Tending to an allotment counts as a form of exercise as long as social distancing is maintained, according to Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove. “I think it is perfectly sensible for people to go to an allotment. It is in the very nature of an allotment that there is a safe distance between people working on individual allotments.” As the Government has banned gatherings of more than two people, this must also be observed on allotments.
It looks like it’s going to be a bit longer before anyone is gardening on the Moon, however, as the global pandemic has forced NASA to stop work on its Orion rocket. But it does mean that the NASA supercomputers can join the fight against the coronavirus. The lockdown in Europe also means that eight spacecraft have been put into hibernation mode, including the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, Mars Express and the Solar Orbiter mission launched last month.
In more positive news, Egypt is recruiting its first astronaut candidates, with the ultimate goal of sending an astronaut to the ISS.
Space gardening provided me with a moment of light relief this week when I used Google Translate on a Dutch article about Dr
Get ready for launch, it’s time for the latest edition of Gardeners off World!
This week, Gardeners Off World watched as the latest SpaceX launch (CRS-19) delivered more exciting experiments to the International Space Station (ISS).
This morning, the Boeing Company’s CST-100 Starliner capsule launched on its first mission to the International Space Station. The aim of this uncrewed Orbital Test Flight (OFT) was to demonstrate that the spacecraft is ready to transport NASA astronauts and cargo. An instrumented mannequin named Rosie (named after the WW2 icon Rosie the Riveter, and a nod to the trailblazing women in aerospace and human spaceflight) took the place of a crew.
Welcome interplanetary gardeners! This week’s Gardeners off World starts with a little video Boeing has put together of the inside of the crew cabin on the recent Starliner test flight (the one that took tree seeds into space). You can see Rosie the instrumented mannequin, but the highlight is watching astronaut Snoopy float about as the spacecraft reaches orbit, and then plop back down into his seat during the descent!
Hello! Welcome to Gardeners off World. The big news for space gardeners this week is that NASA has determined that the salads grown in Veggie are safe to eat. And a team of Russian researchers have developed a prototype for an orbital greenhouse. The Orbital Biological Automatic Module includes smart lighting to accelerate plant growth, specialised hydroponics, automated irrigation and harvesting solutions. It could be heading to the International Space Station (ISS) – “Humanity’s home in Low Earth Orbit” – in the next few years.
Hello! Welcome to Gardeners Off World. This week we’ll start with a musical interlude, as violinist Lindsey Stirling recently performed her song, Artemis, on top of the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center:
Hello, and welcome to Gardeners Off World, your round-up of interplanetary news and views. NASA’s Christina Koch returned to Earth yesterday, after spending 328 days onboard the International Space Station (ISS) – the longest single spaceflight by a woman. Koch participated in three expeditions – 59, 60 and 61 – during her first spaceflight. ESA’s Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov came home on the same flight.
Hello, and welcome to Gardeners off World! On 15 February, the NG-13 cargo ship blasted off from NASA Wallops on its way to the International Space Station (ISS). It arrived on 18 February, where NASA astronaut Drew Morgan caught it with the Canadarm2 robotic arm.
What did you get for Christmas? Hopefully something good, something seedy and something spacey!
This week, Gardeners Off World is blasting off to celebrate an off-world Thanksgiving. Let’s rehydrate some turkey!
Hello, and welcome to Gardeners Off World, a weekly round-up of news and entertainment for people who rather fancy getting their hands dirty on another planet!
Welcome to Gardeners Off World, my weekly round-up of news for green-fingered space nuts! It’s time to suit up and head out into the solar system