Debrecen4U July 8, 2025

Radishes and wheat from Debrecen are already growing on the International Space Station

“The growth of radish and wheat treated by the researchers of the University of Debrecen has started on the International Space Station; the plants are already 2-3 centimetres tall,” the university’s press centre told MTI (Hungarian Telegraph Office) on Friday.

In their announcement, they wrote that the University of Debrecen is participating in two projects in the scientific portfolio of Axiom Mission 4: in the HUNOR Hungarian Astronaut Programme with research on cerebral hemodynamics, and in the investigation of plant germination, microgreen cultivation, and leaf development.

“Researchers from the Faculty of Agriculture, Food Science, and Environmental Management of the University of Debrecen discussed the status and final settings of the experiments conducted on the International Space Station with the HUNOR team supporting the mission of Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu on Tuesday in the Payload Support Centre, in live online connection with the International Space Station (ISS),” they announced.

Professor Emeritus Miklós Fári, the professional coordinator of the research, added that the biggest question in scientific studies is how to create life in the shortest possible time, with the most complex utilisation, while using minimal water.

“Tibor Kapu took a thousand radish, wheat, and pepper seeds with him to the International Space Station, half of which underwent a selenium-rich, ‘life-supporting’ treatment. The plants are grown using only 500 milliliters – 0.5 ml/piece – of water. This amount is sufficient for radish sprouts that can be consumed for 7-8 days, as well as the raw material for wheatgrass juice made from 2-3-week-old wheat germ,” Miklós Fári explained.

Another brain-blood flow research experiment by the University of Debrecen is also being carried out successfully on the International Space Station. Professor and initiator László Csiba said, “Continuous measurement of brain-blood flow in space can only be performed with a special, robotic transcranial ultrasound, which penetrates the skull bone and can be used to separately measure the decrease or improvement in flow in the visual cortex, the motor cortex, and the brain areas involved in spatial orientation. All this is done with a “halo-like” ultrasound device that can be attached to the head,” the professor described.

He added, “These tests are necessary because in the microgravity environment, the suction effect of gravity is dramatically reduced, so some of the blood ‘shot’ into the brain by the heart remains in the brain. Mild cerebral edema may develop, the symptoms of which are drowsiness, headache, and thinking and vision disorders.”

“Fortunately, this so-called ‘space fog’ decreases over time. The ultrasound measurement performed on the head will show how quickly and effectively the circulation of the visual cortex, the motor cortex, and the association cortex is regulated, so whether the astronaut is now suitable for tasks requiring good vision, precise thinking, and fine movement,” ​​László Csiba clarified.

He pointed out that during the research, the ability of the cerebral blood vessels to dilate during breath-holding is also examined, since the carbon dioxide that builds up at this time dilates the blood vessels. This examination provides information about the adaptability of the cerebral blood vessels.

In another study, the dilatation ability of the blood vessels of the visual cortex and the increase in flow are measured by observing whether the intense visual stimulus, the rapid alternation of a chessboard pattern displayed on a computer screen, triggers a sufficiently intense response in the visual cortex.

Source:dehir.hu | Photo credit:Pixabay