Offworld Life Science: Visualized Microtubules In Cell Cultures

Taken on 28 May 2025, this image of the preparative zone of cultured tobacco cells with visualized microtubules (yellow: microtubules [preparative zone], magenta: nuclei).

For the Effects of the Space Environment on Cell Division in Plants (Plant Cell Division) investigation, plant samples are collected that are fixed and frozen for analysis of microstructures, microtubules, proteomes, and transcriptome and imaged using the JAXA Confocal Microscope (COSMIC).

The Plant Cell Division investigation provides researchers with a better understanding of how gravity affects the body plan of plants could support production of food crops on future spaceflight missions.

Astrobiology, space biology,