Growing Beyond Earth®
Growing Beyond Earth® (GBE) is a federally-funded science program designed to advance NASA research on
growing plants in space and to inspire the next generation of explorers. Growing Beyond Earth feeds into NASA’s
largest program, Artemis. The Artemis program will lead humanity forward and establish permanent bases on the
Moon to facilitate human missions to Mars. This is a global effort led by the U.S., with multiple mission
milestones, involving international and commercial partners and citizen scientists, like yourself. As humans
expand into space farther from Earth, the ability to grow sustainable food crops is a solution to a major challenge
of long-duration, deep space missions.
Your work on Growing Beyond Earth will directly support NASA’s goals of feeding astronauts on the International
Space Station, Moon, Mars, and beyond by providing Crop Readiness Level-1 and -2 data to Dr. Gioia Massa
(Senior Scientist), Trent Smith (Research Advisor), and their Space Crop Production team at NASA Kennedy
Space Center.
There are many science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) challenges and solutions related to food
production in space that have applications on Earth. GBE is also advancing technologies for growing plants in
urban, indoor, and other resource-limited settings.
Established in 2015 as a partnership between Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and NASA Science Mission
Directorate, GBE is now underway in 500 middle and high schools from 48 U.S. states and 10 countries.
GBE is unique in its focus on real scientific research, enabling student community scientists to actively contribute
data toward NASA mission planning. Each classroom receives a Fairchild-designed plant habitat analogous to
the Vegetable Production System (Veggie) on the International Space Station (ISS). Fairchild and NASA scientists
train teachers to conduct GBE experiments with students and share their results with NASA.
Growing Beyond Earth® (GBE) es un programa científico financiado federalmente diseñado para avanzar en la investigación de la NASA sobre el cultivo de plantas en el espacio e inspirar a la próxima generación de exploradores. Growing Beyond Earth contribuye al programa más grande de la NASA, Artemis. El programa Artemis guiará a la humanidad hacia adelante y establecerá bases permanentes en la Luna para facilitar misiones humanas a Marte. Este es un esfuerzo global liderado por EE.UU., con múltiples hitos de misión, involucrando socios internacionales y comerciales, así como científicos ciudadanos como tú. A medida que los humanos se expanden en el espacio más allá de la Tierra, la capacidad de cultivar cultivos alimentarios sostenibles es una solución a un gran desafío de las misiones espaciales de larga duración y profundas.
Tu trabajo en Growing Beyond Earth apoyará directamente los objetivos de la NASA de alimentar a los astronautas en la Estación Espacial Internacional, la Luna, Marte y más allá, proporcionando datos de Nivel-1 y -2 de Preparación de Cultivos al Dr. Gioia Massa (Científico Senior), Trent Smith (Asesor de Investigación) y su equipo de Producción de Cultivos Espaciales en el Centro Espacial Kennedy de la NASA.
Existen numerosos desafíos y soluciones en ciencia, tecnología, ingeniería y matemáticas (STEM) relacionados con la producción de alimentos en el espacio que tienen aplicaciones en la Tierra. GBE también está avanzando en tecnologías para el cultivo de plantas en entornos urbanos, interiores y otros lugares con recursos limitados.
Establecido en 2015 como una asociación entre el Jardín Botánico Tropical Fairchild y la Dirección de Ciencia de la NASA, GBE ahora está en marcha en 500 escuelas secundarias y preparatorias de 48 estados y 10 países. GBE es único en su enfoque en la investigación científica real, permitiendo que los estudiantes-científicos comunitarios contribuyan activamente con datos hacia la planificación de misiones de la NASA. Cada aula recibe un hábitat para plantas diseñado por Fairchild, análogo al Sistema de Producción de Vegetales (Veggie) en la Estación Espacial Internacional (ISS). Los científicos de Fairchild y la NASA capacitan a los docentes para realizar experimentos de GBE con los estudiantes y compartir sus resultados con la NASA.
Announcements
Please refer to the dates below for this year’s Chat with a Scientist.
All Chats will take place from 4:00-5:00 PM EST.
October 17, 2024 – Zoom
November 14, 2024 – Zoom
January 22, 2025 – Zoom
February 20, 2025 – Zoom
March 13, 2025 – Zoom
April 14, 2025 – Zoom
Can’t make any of these dates? Use this form to write your questions and we will ask them live!
We have filled our roster of new teachers for this year!
You may fill out this Interest Form, which will add you to our mailing list for next school year.
In preparation for the school year, GBE will be hosting our Teacher Training Sessions. Below is the information for the virtual sessions.
September 4 (Spanish Session), 6PM – 9PM EST (Zoom) (Recording) (Slides)
September 10, 6PM – 9PM EST (Zoom) (Recording) (Slides)
September 14, 9:30AM – 12:30PM EST (In-person @ Fairchild Garden)
September 14, 1:30PM – 4:30PM EST (Zoom) (Recording) (Slides)
During these sessions we will be discussing the program logistics and training on the new experimental protocols for the upcoming school year. Look out for another email later in the month to register for your classroom’s experiment.
For new and returning teachers, all supplies will be provided through our Shopify site. More information will be given at the Teacher Training Sessions.
We look forward to seeing everyone in these training sessions!
This year’s summer Growing Beyond Earth interns have been hard at work testing a new set of potential experiments for the upcoming school year. The interns have been exploring novel crops, alternative growth media, herbal teas, irradiated seeds (simulated cosmic rays), and light recipes.
In June, the Growing Beyond Earth interns traveled to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. The interns were able to meet with the NASA scientists associated with the experiments.
Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach or Monroe County Teacher?
Visit the Fairchild Challenge home page for more information about this and other Challenges.
Need more information, contact GBE@fairchildgarden.org
This website is based upon work supported by NASA Grant No. 80NCCS22M0125-SciAct. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Este sitio web se basa en el trabajo respaldado por NASA Grant No. 80NCCS22M0125-SciAct. Todas las opiniones, hallazgos, conclusiones o recomendaciones expresadas en este material pertenecen a los autores y no reflejan necesariamente los puntos de vista de la Administración Nacional de Aeronáutica y del Espacio.
With generous support from