WEBVTT FILE

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[inquisitive music]

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all: "Our World."

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[laughter]

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- Did you know
that plants are living things

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just like you and me?

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They also need water
and nutrients,

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or food,
to survive.

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But what else
do plants need to grow?

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- Plants need
five important things to grow.

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They need water.

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They need nutrients.

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They need light.

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They need temperature.

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And they need atmosphere.

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And all of these five things

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have to be
within a particular range

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for plants
to survive and thrive,

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no matter
where they're growing.

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Humans need plants
because they provide

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a lot of the things
that we need to survive.

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They provide oxygen

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as a byproduct
of their photosynthesis.

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And they provide food

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in the form of carbohydrates,

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proteins,

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and other nutrients
that we need to eat.

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Plants also provide fiber,

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which can be turned
into fabric.

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They can be a source of fuel,

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building materials.

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And they can even
provide medicines.

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- Plants, just like humans,

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have special needs
to live and grow.

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But those things
don't exist in space,

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so how are the astronauts on
the International Space Station

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growing plants in space?

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- On the International
Space Station,

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we're growing plants
inside the habitat.

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And we use growth chambers
in this environment.

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Water and air don't mix well
in space.

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And so, watering your plants
is really challenging.

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And so, we use a substrate

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to help get water and air
to the roots.

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And the astronauts
actually water the plants,

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or we can use a pump to put
water into that substrate.

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A substrate is something
that plants can grow in.

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And in space,
we're using baked clay chips.

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This is the same material

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that we use here on Earth
on sports fields.

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- So that's how plants grow
on the space station!

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But let's branch out.

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Is it possible to grow plants
on the moon or Mars?

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- Plant growth in space

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is going to require
a lot of innovation.

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Different technologies
and different approaches

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are gonna be important
to growing plants in space,

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and they may also be useful

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for growing plants
more efficiently on Earth.

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Someday, we may be able
to use lunar regolith,

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which is essentially
moon dirt, to grow plants.

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We also think we'll be able
to grow plants on Mars.

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There is an atmosphere
on Mars,

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but it's too cold
and too thin

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to grow plants outdoors
on Mars.

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So again, we'll be growing
plants inside in a habitat.

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We'll again see if we can
use the Mars regolith,

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or Mars dirt,
to grow plants,

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because
there are some minerals

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that our Mars rovers
have detected

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that could act
as a fertilizer.

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On Earth, we have bees
and other insects

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that act as pollinators.

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And we also have wind.

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Plants like tomatoes
or peppers produce fruit,

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and you have to have flowers
that get pollinated

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to make fruit.

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In space, we don't have
any of those things.

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So for the space station
and then the moon and Mars,

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we'll either have
the astronauts pollinate,

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wind, or vibration,

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or we may actually have robots
pollinating our plants.

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- So we know that plants
can be grown in space

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and possibly
on the moon and Mars,

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but what do we need
to make that happen?

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- To grow plants in space, you
have to set up the conditions

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for a plant to grow:

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things like
a controlled environment

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that maintains
the temperature,

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humidity, provides
lighting and irrigation.

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All the things that
make a plant grow on Earth,

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we have to simulate it
and make it available

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for the plants to grow
in space as well.

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One of the biggest things
that I work on here

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at Kennedy Space Center
is to develop systems

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that would provide the water

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for the plants to grow
in microgravity

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that doesn't allow the
moisture to float everywhere.

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We have
two plant growth systems

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on the International
Space Station.

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One of them is Veggie.

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Veggie is essentially a light
with a bellows bag.

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And it's an open system,
which means that it's open

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to the environment
that the astronauts live in.

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A closed system is
a controlled environment

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that maintains temperature,

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humidity, carbon dioxide.

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It maintains the lighting,

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and it provides irrigation
for the plants to grow.

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This closed system
is a lot like

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the advanced plant habitat
that we have

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on the International
Space Station as well.

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- Now we know that
we can grow plants in space

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and how astronauts
are doing exactly that.

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But why is it important

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for them
to even grow plants anyway?

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- Wherever people
have traveled,

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we've taken plants with us

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to provide the food
that we need on the journey

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and when we get there.

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And it's no different
as we go to the moon

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or as we go on to Mars.

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I think plants
are also gonna be

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an important connection
to Earth for these astronauts

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who are venturing out
to the moon and Mars.

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They'll want to keep in touch

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with this beautiful planet
that we live on.

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- Plants are clearly important

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to all living things here
in our world,

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but also
to the astronauts in space.

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That's why NASA scientists
and engineers

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are working together
to learn more

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about how plants
live, grow, and adapt

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in all different sorts
of environments.

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Now that's
some "STEM" education.

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Well, it's time
for me to "leaf."

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"Seed" you next time!

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all: "Our World."
[laughter]