Plant grown in Lake Tuz to be tested in space
In the "Extremophyte" experiment to be conducted in space by Turkey's first space traveler Alper Gezeravcı, the reactions of the Schrenkiella Parvula plant, which grows endemically in Lake Tuz, to salt and other stress factors in the space environment will be investigated.
AA
According to a statement from Yaşar University, the experiment designed by a team consisting of Prof. Dr. İsmail Türkan, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies at the university, and Ege University Department of Biology faculty members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rengin Özgür Uzilday and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Barış Uzilday, will examine whether the plant, which is resistant to high-salt environments, can maintain its tolerance to high salinity in microgravity.
THE PLANT'S TOLERANCE TO HIGH SALINITY MAY ALSO BE EFFECTIVE IN SPACE
Prof. Dr. İsmail Türkan stated that the experiment, which will continue in Turkey after being conducted on the International Space Station (ISS), aims to reveal the interaction between the plant's tolerance to high salinity and microgravity.
Stating that this type of interaction will be investigated in the space environment for the first time, Türkan provided the following information:
"We believe that this feature of the plant has the potential to be used in bases planned to be established on other planets for the remediation of regoliths (Moon and Mars soil) with high salt and metal content, and for the treatment of various astronaut waste. Since the plant is also tolerant to elements such as lithium and boron in addition to sodium chloride, it could be used in future experiments investigating tolerance to heavy metals and other environmental stresses in space. It is very important that an endemic plant species belonging to our country, which is accepted as a model in the world, will be tested in the space environment for the first time within the scope of this first scientific mission."