Elon Musk’s SpaceX is set to deliver marijuana seeds to space, reports V13 Media.
This mission, scheduled for March, will transport a variety of cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), including strains provided by FastBuds, a cannabis cultivation company. The seeds are part of a broader experiment aimed at understanding how the unique conditions of space travel and the space environment might influence plant growth and genetic mutation.
The primary goal of this project is to explore whether space can induce beneficial genetic changes in plants, potentially leading to the development of crops that can withstand adverse conditions on Earth. Scientists will closely examine the marijuana seeds after their 30-day stay in space to determine if they can be genetically modified to grow in harsher climates, a critical consideration as climate change continues to challenge traditional agriculture.
This initiative is part of a larger effort to develop more resilient plants that could play a crucial role in ensuring food security in the future. If successful, the research could pave the way for further experiments with different plant species aboard SpaceX missions, contributing to the fight against global hunger by creating crops that thrive in extreme environments.
Musk similarly sent marijuana seeds to space in 2020 for a separate experiment.