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The Clarion-Ledger reports that the experiment by John Z. Kiss — the graduate school dean and professor of biology at Ole Miss — is aimed at determining whether edible plants might be grown on Mars and the moon.
His seedling samples were aboard a rocket that launched Friday from Cape Canaveral, bound for the International Space Station.
The experiment is part of NASA's Fundamental Space Biology program. The project also has a strong relevance for improving crops on Earth by improving production and sustainability.