Earth's Smallest Flowering Plant Can Handle 20X Earth's Gravity

Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope image of approximately 1mm-diameter watermeal plants after hypergravity exposure. ESA.

Astronauts need to eat, and they need to breathe. That means, for long-duration missions, they are going to need to bring plants with them. But not all plants are created equal, and not all can survive the harsh conditions of space. One that might thrive on long spacefaring voyages also happens to be the smallest flowering plant on Earth.

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