Watermeal: Earth's Smallest Flowering Plant as a Solution for Space Travel

Watermeal, tiniest flowering plant on the Earth is the strong candidate to act as a food as well as an oxygen source for future space travel. Experiments are going on for whether it sustains astronauts in Space?

Let us look at the some characteristics which make Watermeal Plant unique and perfect candidate for Space Exploration.

Watermeal: Future candidate for Food in Space

Watermeal Plant:

• It is smaller than its close relative Duckweed, possesses no roots, stems or leaves.

• It solely remains afloat on the surfaces of aqueous bodies generally still to slowly moving waters of ponds, lakes, swamps etc.

• Under favourable circumstances, including warm water and ample light, plant has the potential to increase its size two fold every two days. This rapid growth results in the plant rapidly spreading across the water surface.

• This simplicity and remarkable growth rate make it a perfect candidate for investigating the impact of gravity shifts on plant development.

• It has been used as a staple in the diets of many Asian countries for generations, including Thailand, where it is commonly consumed in soups and salads.

Applications and Uses:

• Watermeal has a multitude of potential applications, including nutrient removal and sustainable agriculture.

• Its ability to absorb excess nutrients from water bodies makes it a promising tool for water purification and managing eutrophication in polluted waters.

• Additionally, its high protein content and rapid growth rate make it a valuable source of nutrition for sustainable agriculture on Earth and in space.

• Its exceptional nutritional value and the fact that every part of the plant is edible make it a highly promising option for agriculture in space.

• Furthermore, watermeal's proficiency in producing oxygen through photosynthesis makes it a potential source for long-duration space missions where life support systems are crucial.

Current Experiments:

• The investigation, carried out at the ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), encompassed subjecting the minuscule aquatic flora to hypergravity circumstances on ESA's Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC). The LDC, an 8-meter diameter four-arm centrifuge, allows researchers to simulate gravity levels up to 20 times that of Earth for extended periods.

• In space-based research, watermeal has been used in hypergravity experiments to study its growth and development in altered gravitational environments, providing insights into plant adaptation for space agriculture.

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