{"id":121126,"date":"2025-07-31T17:50:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T16:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=121126"},"modified":"2025-07-31T17:50:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T16:50:50","slug":"nasrda-in-nasa-mission-with-indigenous-seeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/nasrda-in-nasa-mission-with-indigenous-seeds\/","title":{"rendered":"\u200eNASRDA In NASA Mission With Indigenous Seeds \u200e"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u200e… Flies Okra, Maize, Cowpea to Space Station<\/div>\n
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\u200eDaniel Adaji<\/div>\n
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\u200eNigeria\u2019s National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) has joined a historic international space mission by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), sending six indigenous crop seeds to the International Space Station (ISS).<\/div>\n
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\u200eThe launch, part of NASA\u2019s Crew-11 Mission, took place on Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.<\/div>\n
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\u200eThe agency’s Director of Media and Corporate Communications, Dr. Felix Ale disclosed to Pointblanknews.com in a statement.<\/div>\n
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\u200eThe seeds\u2014okra, cowpea, Guinea corn (sorghum), amaranth, maize, and melon, are Nigeria\u2019s contribution to the World Seeds Payload, a global agricultural experiment led by Jaguar Space.<\/div>\n
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\u200eThe initiative brings together scientific input from eleven countries and is designed to study how crops behave under microgravity, providing insights into climate resilience, food security, and the future of agriculture in space.<\/div>\n
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\u200eRepresenting NASRDA at the launch is Olayinka Fagbemiro, Assistant Director in the International Cooperation & Linkages Department and Project Lead for Nigeria on the mission.<\/div>\n
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\u200e\u201cHer responsibilities have spanned seed selection, documentation, logistics coordination, and institutional representation from the early planning stages through to the current launch phase,\u201d NASRDA noted.<\/div>\n
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\u200eThe seeds were transported to the U.S. following a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NASRDA and Jaguar Space, sealing Nigeria\u2019s participation in the mission. It is the first time a biological payload from the country is being flown aboard a crewed NASA mission to the ISS.<\/div>\n
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\u200e\u201cThis mission marks a historic first for NASRDA, with Nigeria\u2019s biological payload flying aboard a crewed NASA mission to the ISS. It reinforces NASRDA\u2019s commitment to applying space science toward sustainable development and global scientific cooperation,\u201d it stated.<\/div>\n
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\u200eThe World Seeds Payload is part of the Emerging Space Nations initiative\u2014Space for Agriculture and Agriculture for Space and seeks to promote inclusive, culturally grounded space research. For Nigeria, it also provides a platform to validate years of research on similar seeds done under simulated gravity by NASRDA\u2019s Department of Physical and Life Sciences.<\/div>\n
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\u200eThis collaboration signals the growing relevance of emerging space nations like Nigeria in global scientific advancements and showcases how indigenous resources can contribute to humanity\u2019s exploration of life beyond Earth.<\/div>\n
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