Indian Analog Astronaut Capt Aman Johri Conducts Microgravity Space Research on Maharashtra Crops

 Indian Analog Astronaut Capt Aman Johri Conducts Microgravity Space Research on Maharashtra Crops

• Who: Capt Aman Johri, Indian Analog Astronaut under Project Astra Farm.
• What: Microgravity research flight focused on Maharashtra-grown onions and potatoes, flown aboard specially designed passive microgravity payload in collaboration with National Research Council Canada [NRC-CNRC] to study behaviour in microgravity.
• Experiment: Agricultural samples exposed to microgravity to study how plant tissues and cells respond to reduced gravity.
• Significance: Among India's first initiatives integrating space agriculture, food tech, crop resilience to support future space missions and food security.
• Next Step: Nuclear Post-Processing - crop samples will be irradiated using nuclear food technology at BARC under DAE in collaboration with Hindustan Agro Co-Operative Ltd, supported by Govt of Maharashtra.
• UPSC Relevance: GS3 - Space, Biotechnology, Food Security.