Taiwan is to send plant seeds to outer space for the first time in October to observe how the space environment affects their genetic makeup, the National Space Organization (NSPO) said yesterday.
The Space Seeds for Asian Future program is being developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Nine nations, including Taiwan, are participating in the program this year, with 16 kinds of seeds expected to be sent to the International Space Station (ISS), where they would stay for about four months, the NSPO said.
Participating nations have primarily chosen the seeds of endemic plants or plants with symbolic meaning, it said, adding that some are crop seeds.
Photo: Chen Hsien-i, Taipei Times
The NSPO collaborated with National Chung Hsing University’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute, which is overseen by the Council of Agriculture, to choose which seeds to send, it said.
The college has chosen the seeds of Formosa lambsquarters, Phalaenopsis equestris, which is a kind of “butterfly orchid” originating from Lesser Orchid Island (小蘭嶼), and sunflowers, while the institute has picked chili pepper seeds, the NSPO said.
The seeds to be sent to the ISS weigh 10g, 1g, 20g and 16g respectively, it added.
The seeds selected by the university have arrived in Japan and are expected to be sent to the US next month, the NSPO said, adding that they would be returned to Taiwan in February next year.
The university is to plant the seeds following their return and observe how factors such as microgravity and space radiation affect their growth, it said.
Experts chose which seeds to send following multiple meetings with academics specializing in plants after assessing factors such as contribution to teaching and research, and weight limits for space travel, college dean Chan Fu-chih (詹富智) said.
As Japan and the US have different regulations regarding the importation of seeds, lengthy preparations had to be made, such as filling out forms on the quarantine of imported and exported seeds, as well as advance virus tests on them, Chan said.
Formosa lambsquarters, also endemic to Taiwan, is a traditional crop grown by Aborigines, but little research has been dedicated to it, while sunflower is a common plant, making it a convenient target for observation and research, she said.
Thailand and Australia have picked the seeds of their national flowers, the ratchaphruek and the golden wattle respectively; New Zealand is sending the seeds of the pohutukawa, an endemic plant; Indonesia is sending celery and onion seeds; and Malaysia the seed of holy basil, the NSPO said.
‘TRUSTED PARTNER’: The company said that it is ‘committed to help bring an end to the pandemic,’ while the health minister denied it was a ‘chips for vaccines’ deal BioNTech on Wednesday said that it plans to provide its COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan after Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) announced that in December last year the German company at the last minute halted a deal for the nation to to buy 5 million doses. Earlier on Wednesday, Chen said that officials were on the verge of announcing the deal when BioNTech pulled the plug, although he added that it was still pending and had not been torn up. While he did not say that China was to blame, Chen implied there was a political dimension to the decision. “BioNTech
SPY GAMES: For more than 20 years, intelligence officers traveled to China, where they identified other MIB personnel and allegedly traded secrets for money and gifts The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted four retired Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) officials, who are accused of providing China with a list of bureau personnel and other classified materials while attempting to recruit colleagues into a spy network in Taiwan. Prosecutors charged Chang Chao-jan (張超然), Chou Tien-tzu (周天慈) and Wang Ta-wang (王大旺), former colonels at the bureau, and Yueh Chih-chung (岳志忠) — a former major general and chief of the MIB’s Fifth Bureau, where he was in charge of sending agents to China on covert assignments — with breaches of the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the National Intelligence Services
CONTINUED VIGILANCE: People would still be required to wear masks at eight types of public spaces and border controls would continue, Chen Shih-chung told reporters The government’s autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program is to continue beyond Sunday, but eating and drinking on high-speed trains would be allowed from Monday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that while there were no new confirmed cases in Taiwan yesterday, the global COVID-19 situation remains serious, so the autumn-winter COVID-19 prevention program would be extended beyond its Sunday deadline. “Border control measures, including requiring a negative polymerase chain reaction test result obtained within three days of boarding a plane to Taiwan, and undergoing quarantine in a
MORE RISK? Three Taiwanese family members were found to have the Brazilian variant, which CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo said might be more infectious From Wednesday, all travelers who have been in Brazil in the past 14 days are required to be quarantined at a centralized facility after arriving in Taiwan and undergo a COVID-19 test upon ending quarantine, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that starting from 12am on Wednesday, all travelers arriving from Brazil, including those who have transited through the country in the past 14 days, would have to stay at a centralized quarantine facility. “They will be tested for COVID-19 upon completing the 14-day quarantine, and they
RSS