Debrecen radishes and wheat are already growing on the International Space Station

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In their statement, they wrote that the University of Debrecen is participating in two projects in the scientific portfolio of Axiom Mission 4: in the HUNOR Hungarian Astronaut Program with research on cerebral hemodynamics, and with the investigation of plant germination, microgreen cultivation and leaf development. Researchers from the Faculty of Agriculture, Food Science and Environmental Management of the University of Budapest discussed the status and final settings of the experiments conducted on the International Space Station with the HUNOR team supporting the mission of Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu on Tuesday in the Payload Support Center, in online, live connection with the International Space Station (ISS), they reported. Professor Emeritus Miklós Fári, the professional coordinator of the research, added: the biggest question in scientific studies is how to create life in the shortest possible time, with the most complex utilization, while using minimal water.

Tibor Kapu took a thousand radish, wheat and pepper seeds with him to the International Space Station, half of which underwent a selenium-rich, “life-supporting” treatment

The plants are grown using only 500 milliliters – 0.5 ml/piece – of water. This quantity is sufficient for radish sprouts that can be consumed for 7-8 days, as well as the raw material for wheat ear juice made from 2-3-week-old wheat germ – explained Miklós Fári.

Another cerebral blood flow research experiment of the University of Debrecen is also successful on the International Space Station

University professor László Csiba, the originator of the idea, said: continuous measurement of cerebral blood flow in space can only be performed with special, robotic transcranial ultrasound, which penetrates the skull bone and can be used to separately measure the decrease or improvement in flow in the visual cortex, the motor cortex and the brain areas involved in spatial orientation. All this is done with a “halo-like” ultrasound device that can be attached to the head – explained the professor. He added: these tests are necessary because in the microgravity environment, the suction effect of gravity is dramatically reduced, so some of the blood “shot” into the brain by the heart remains in the brain. Mild cerebral edema may develop, the symptoms of which are: drowsiness, headache, thinking and vision disorders. Fortunately, this so-called “space fog” decreases over time. The ultrasound measurement performed on the head will show how quickly and effectively the circulation of the visual cortex, the motor cortex and the association cortex is regulated, so whether the astronaut is now suitable for tasks requiring good vision, precise thinking and fine movement – explained László Csiba. He pointed out: during the research, the ability of the cerebral blood vessels to dilate during breath holding is also examined, since the carbon dioxide that builds up at this time dilates the blood vessels. This test provides information about the adaptability of the cerebral blood vessels. In another study, the dilation and increase in flow of the vessels in the visual cortex are measured by observing whether an intense visual stimulus – a rapidly changing checkerboard pattern displayed on a computer screen – triggers a sufficiently intense response in the visual cortex.

MTI