An experiment on the ISS will investigate whether plants are able to use a sixth sense while in space - a sense of gravity . In the weightless environment of the space station , researchers will monitor how plants grow in a particular direction without a noticeable gravitational pull . The results could help farmers on Earth get a higher crop yield - and may also help future astronauts grow plants on missions beyond Earth orbit to the moon and Mars . An experiment on the ISS will investigate whether plants are able to use a sixth sense while in space - a sense of gravity . Nasa astronaut Karen Nyberg is pictured harvesting plants from a previous Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ( Jaxa ) investigation of thale cress during Expedition 37 in 2013 . The experiment is being run by researchers at the Japanese space agency ( Jaxa ) . German researchers are currently testing a greenhouse system , which uses recycled urine to manufacture fertiliser . They hope to build a greenhouse in Antarctica to test the first space garden in 2016 . The system is being developed at the German Aerospace Center in Bremen , and is called Eden ( Evolution and Design of Environmentally-closed Nutrition sources ) . Funded by Esa , the greenhouses will contain combined life-support systems which use recycled urine to manufacture fertiliser , helping to grow vegetables for a lunar and Mars environment . Scientists from Virginia are also hoping to use meteorite soil to grow everything from asparagus to potatoes . If the study proves successful , it could help humans grow their own food in space , helping in the quest to colonise other planets . Called the Plant Gravity Sensing study , it will be conducted when new supplies are taken to the ISS by a SpaceX Dragon capsule on 13 April . The experiment will examine the cellular process of formation in thale cress , a small flowering plant related to cabbage . Small dishes will hold seedlings , and astronauts on the station will watch how they are able to grow inside the Japanese Kibo module . Scientists will be examining whether a plant ’ s ability to work out which way it is growing - the gravity sensor - can form in the absence of gravity . It should be noted that there is still gravity on the ISS but , owing to its orbit around Earth , things on the station are in a constant state of free-fall , simulating a zero-gravity environment . In the Kibo module , the plants will be placed in both the micro gravity ISS environment and in a small centrifuge , that can simulate Earth ’ s gravity . Results will show if the plants can sense changes in gravity , and adapt levels of calcium in their cells to compensate for it . The results could help farmers on Earth get a higher crop yield - and may also help future astronauts grow plants on missions beyond Earth orbit to the moon and Mars ( illustration shown ) In particular , scientists think particles in plant cells that store and process starch for energy - amyloplast - may form in the direction of gravitational pull . By increasing calcium concentrations , the amyloplast can help the plant grow in a certain direction . Without gravity , though , scientists will be keen to see whether the same components can still assemble to make the plant grow in a certain direction . If the role of amyloplast is proven to be correct , it could mean that plants on Earth could be modified to make them more healthy . And it could also help cultivate healthy plants for consumption on future deep space missions , or even other planets . These culture dishes hold seedlings and the growing medium for the Plant Gravity Sensing investigation , which were used during astronaut training at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ’ s Tsukuba Space Center in March 2014 . The gravity sensor of the plant could be regulated to account for the different gravity on another planet - such as Mars , where it is a third of Earth ’ s . ‘ We may design plants that respond to gravity vector changes more efficiently than wild ones , ’ said Dr Hitoshi Tatsumi from the Nagoya University in Japan , who is running the experiment . ‘ These plants will recover from collapse by winds or flood more rapidly than wild ones . Thus , the agricultural output of the designed plants will be greatly increased , which may solve , in part , the shortage of crops in the near future . ’
Japanese-led experiment will see how plants grow on the the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency . Researchers will monitor how they grow without influence of gravity . Results could help farmers on Earth get a higher crop yield . And it may also help future astronauts grow plants on Mars .