Space SEEDS found at Cochise Elementary School
Tomato seeds traveled on Challenger, Columbia, spent 6 years in space

Tomato seeds that traveled through space and time aboard the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia will be planted at 10 a.m. on Feb. 2 at Cochise Elementary School’s science lab.

Becca Hirschfeld’s fourth grade student scientists will plant two packets of the experimental seeds to commemorate the first anniversary of the Columbia disaster. In addition, the students will be conducting science experiments at the same time by growing and monitoring space-exposed seeds and Earth-based seeds, searching for the differences caused by long-term exposure to cosmic radiation, including how the plants develop, the size and if the plant produces fruit.

“It’s amazing that these seeds were up in space and now the students will have the opportunity to see the result of that experience,” said Mrs. Hirschfeld. “The students will go through the steps of the scientific method, which includes asking a question, making a hypothesis, gathering materials, performing the experiment, recording the results and making a conclusion,” she added.

The lost seeds were filed away for 14 years before Gayle Hall, science lab instructor assistant, found them in a file cabinet. The seeds were in a dusty, old brown, crumbly envelope labeled NASA. Her curiosity got the best of her and she opened the old envelope to discover the seeds. After research, Mrs. Hall realized the historical value of the seeds.

“The planting will not only commemorate the anniversary of the Columbia tragedy, but it will also help the students realize the importance of space exploration. What is happening on Earth is effected by what is happening in space,” said Mrs. Hall.

In 1984, the Challenger launched 12.5 million tomato seeds into space aboard the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) satellite. The Space Exposed Experiment Development for Students (SEEDS) was one of 57 experiments housed on the LDEF satellite. The one-year experiment ended up staying in space for nearly six years and completed 32,422 Earth orbits before the LDEF satellite was retrieved by the Columbia crew in 1990.

SEEDS was a cooperative project between NASA and Park Seed Company offering students a one-of-a-kind, hands–on experiment to study the effects of long-term space exposure on living tissue. In 1990, NASA distributed more than 60,000 SEEDS kits to schools across the United States and Canada for experiments and study.

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