Welcome to Tomatosphere 6R!                                Back to Tomatosphere SubUnit

Learn about survival in space and on Mars by participating in Tomatosphere, a unique and exciting educational experience for students in grade 6R.

In spring, 2015, students will have the opportunity to grow tomato plants from two different types of seeds - a control group - and the other is the "treatment" group, which was subjected to a simulated space environment of -80°C in a vacuum at the University of Guelph for a 34 day period. The simulation approximates what might happen to the seeds if there was a breach in the storage system on a spacecraft with astronauts going to Mars for the first time.   This will be a “blind” test. The teacher and students will not know the origin of each of the groups of seeds until they have completed the germination process and submitted the results.

Watching these seeds grow will help answer questions about the supply of support requirements to space missions - food, water, oxygen and the need to consume carbon dioxide exhaled by crew members. Traveling to and from Mars – the closest planet to Earth – could take almost three years. It's imperative to know how to grow food for the journey there, the stay on Mars and the return journey.

To have adequate food supplies for survival on Mars, astronauts will need to grow some of their own food.  The tomato is one of the candidate crops for a “farm on Mars.” 

Tomatoes are practical and valuable plants for space applications. They provide wholesome nourishment, as well as purified water through evaporation from their leaves. Students will compare the germination rates of the two sets of seeds and may report on the growth and development of their plants. They'll learn how to conduct a scientific experiment ... and maybe they'll be inspired to pursue further education in science and technology. Today's students are the astronauts and Mars explorers of the future!