Rooibos is heading for space

The Rooibos in Space project has taken another step towards fruition with the safe dispatch of seeds for the next International Space Station (ISS) mission.

Allison Areias, US consul general in Cape Town hosted a farewell for the South African school and university science experiments bound for the launch. The rooibos seeds will travel alongside these experiments aboard the same spacecraft to the ISS.

A total of 17 346 rooibos seeds, weighing approximately 74,2 grams, will travel to Voyager Technologies in Texas, where the experiment will be prepared for spaceflight. The seeds are divided into three batches: untreated, scarified, and scarified and treated with a protective agricultural coating.

Secured inside a specialised nanolab, the Rooibos experiment is designed to expose the seeds to microgravity and space radiation before they return to earth for further testing.

A nanolab is a compact, standardised research module designed to accommodate experiments for spaceflight and the International Space Station. These plug-and-play laboratories allow researchers to conduct experiments in space without requiring large, custom-built equipment.

The rooibos nanolab is scheduled to fly to the ISS aboard the Cygnus NG-25 commercial resupply spacecraft, with the mission currently expected to launch between December 2026 and January 2027. The revised timing follows changes to the Voyager/NASA flight schedule, including broader adjustments to crew and resupply arrangements, which resulted in the October flight originally allocated to the rooibos experiment being rescheduled.

“This is an exciting milestone for rooibos and for South Africans who have followed this project from the beginning,” says Dawie de Villiers, director of the South African Rooibos Council (SARC). “The scientific objective is to explore what will happen to the Rooibos seeds when they are exposed to conditions beyond earth, opening up new opportunities to learn more about this uniquely South African plant.”

The seeds are expected to spend four to six weeks in space before returning to earth, where researchers will work with schools in the Cederberg region – Rooibos’ natural growing area – and Parklands College to plant the space-exposed seeds alongside control seeds. Over the course of 18 months, learners and researchers will monitor, measure, and analyse differences in germination, growth patterns, and plant development as the plants mature.

Learner participation is central to the project, giving young people the opportunity to contribute to a real scientific investigation while developing practical Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills.

The broader Rooibos in Space initiative has included school engagement, STEM education, and a national Mission Patch competition which challenged youth aged 12 to 18 to design a unique patch for the mission.

For Cyril Ngqwala, rooibos seed technician, preparing the experiment has provided a rare opportunity to combine traditional rooibos seed knowledge with space science.

“Working with the seeds from preparation through to assembling the nanolab has been an incredible experience,” says Ngqwala. “We have prepared the seeds in different conditions so that, when they return, we can compare their performance with seeds that have remained on earth. It’s exciting to think that something as uniquely South African as rooibos is now part of a space experiment.”

The Rooibos in Space initiative was conceived by the SARC and has been developed as a collaborative project with MaxIQ Space.

The mission will mark the first time a South African indigenous plant seed has been sent into space for this type of research, creating a unique opportunity to explore how rooibos – a plant uniquely adapted to the Cederberg region – responds to the extreme conditions of space.

Updates about the project will be shared on the official website: www.sarooibos.co.za, as well as its social media channels: @RooibosCouncil (Facebook) and @SARooibosCouncil (Instagram).

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