Science and Agriculture Applications in Space
S.A.A.S
Missions
Hummus missions
Chickpeas in Space (2018 - Present)
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HUMMUS1 is currently undergoing data analysis after a successful rocket launch that had an experiment conducted on the payload of the rocket looking into the population growth on nitrogen fixing bacteria
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HUMMUS2 is in its initial phase, marked but the arrival of the satellite (from the USA) for the experiment that will be conducted on the International Space Station in 2020
HUMMUS1
HUMMUS1 is a preliminary experiment looking into the survival of rhizobia, specifically for chickpea plant growth. The experiment compromised of putting these bacteria into a payload into a rocket, with the hope to see the effects of vibrations and g-forces acting upon a population and which growth environment would be best suited to the bacteria. HUMMUS1 was successfully launched and safely returned on Friday 19th April, with thanks to the AIAA UNSW’s rocketry team in Westmar, Queensland during the Australian Universities Rocketry Competition (AURC). The retrieved bacteria is currently being analysed and hopefully the effects will be able to be seen in the coming month. The experiment tested cultures of rhizobia in different environments; liquid broth, mini petri dishes and in bags of peat (a soil-like environment). With a ground control to compare the launched-rhizobia to, the experiment is to investigate the effects of vibrations and g-forces acting upon a population and which growth environment would be best suited to the bacteria in the HUMMUS2 launch.
The results of these will then carry forward towards the next mission-HUMMUS2.
HUMMUS2
HUMMUS2 will be an experiment on the International Space Station (to be launched April 2020), to study the effects of lunar and Mars conditions on the bacteria and plant populations. In addition, as of last week, the announcement of HUMMUS2’s next milestone has been reached; with the delivery of a CubeSat being donated to the SAAS student team. This CubeSat is being kindly donated and pre-programmed from a prior biology mission ran by the International Space University in early 2019 on the International Space Station.