In pictures: 30 years of the Space Shuttle program

Header image: Lupinus albus (altramuces o chochitos), by Calapito via Wikimedia Commons.

Header image: Good enough to eat – ‘Outredgeous’ lettuce grown under pink lights on the International Space Station. NASA, CC BY-SA

Header image: The greenhouse at McMurdo Station in Antarctica is the only source of fresh food during winter. Eli Duke/Flickr, CC BY-SA

At times, usually when I supposed to be doing something else because I’m a grad student and procrastination of some form seems to be part of the gig, I find myself planning what plants I would include in an imaginary biodome on a inhospitable planet many astronomical units away. Imaginary biodomes are one of my favourite thought exercises – to me it is the perfect fusion of my love of space exploration and my attempts to grow as much as my own food as I can in my small backyard.

Header image: Nematodes play an important role in all biological systems. Shutterstock

Header image: Born in space: I’d rather not come down to Earth. geniusdevil

Header image: Chimpanzee Ham with Trainers. Image credit: NASA

Michael Dixon, University of Guelph

Morgan Saletta, University of Melbourne and Kevin Orrman-Rossiter, University of Melbourne

Header image: <a href=«https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/space-junk-orbiting-around-earth-conceptual-233084350?src=» http:>Johan Swanepoel/Shutterstock

Header image: Blue Origin

Patrick Major, University of Reading and Chris Scott, University of Reading