Space-flown Choctaw Nation seeds to be planted on Earth for STEM experiment
Five varieties of heirloom seeds from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma — including Isito (Choctaw Sweet Potato Squash), Tobi (Smith Peas), Tanchi Tohbi (Flour Corn), Tvnishi (Lambsquarter), and Chukfi Peas — were flown to the International Space Station in November 2023. (Image credit: NASA/Loral O’Hara)
Seeds flown to space last year will be planted on Earth this spring as part of a cultural and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) study.
Five varieties of heirloom seeds from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma — including Isito (Choctaw Sweet Potato Squash), Tobi (Smith Peas), Tanchi Tohbi (Flour Corn), Tvnishi (Lambsquarter), and Chukfi Peas — were flown to the International Space Station (ISS) in November 2023.
The seeds, which together weighed just over a pound (500 grams), were exposed to microgravity and space radiation for more than five months, returning to Earth in April 2024.
Students at the Jones Academy boarding school for Native Americans in Oklahoma will plant the seeds in the school’s Growing Hope Garden this coming spring along
