Image
AI
ge e ated
A
small
ose
pla t
spe t
i e
days
t avelli g
a ou d
Ea th
aboa d
Space
Shuttle
Discove y
i
1998.
It
was
ot
the e
simply
as
a
bota ical
cu iosity.
The
flowe ,
‘Ove ight
Sce tsatio ’,
had
bee
selected
fo
a
expe ime t
that
asked
a
su p isi gly
specific
questio :
would
a
ose
smell
the
same
without
Ea th’s
g avity?
Whe
the
shuttle
etu ed,
the
a swe
was
o.
The
flowe
had
p oduced
fewe
volatile
oils
tha
its
Ea th-g ow
cou te pa ts,
a d
the
bala ce
of
its
f ag a ce
had
shifted.
The
cha ge
was
subtle
e ough
to
equi e
labo ato y
a alysis,
but
disti ctive
e ough
to
i te est
the
pe fume
i dust y.
The
esulti g
sce t
was
eve tually
tu ed
i to
a
comme cial
f ag a ce
i g edie t
k ow
as
the
“space
ose”
ote.
Why
Nasa
selected
Ove ight
Sce tsatio
fo
the
1998
space
ose
expe ime t
‘Ove ight
Sce tsatio ’
was
ot
a
a bit a y
flowe
picked
fo
a
t ip
i to
o bit.
The
mi iflo a
ose,
c eated
by
hyb idise
F.
Ha m
Saville
i
1990,
was
al eady
k ow
fo
havi g
a
u usually
st o g
f ag a ce.
Acco di g
to
the
Ame ica
Rose
Society,
it
came
f om
a
c oss
betwee
the
flo ibu da
‘Taxi’
a d
the
mi iatu e
ose
‘Lave de
Jade’.
It
e te ed
comme cial
cultivatio
i
1999,
although
its
jou ey
i to
space
had
take
place
the
yea
befo e.Its
f ag a ce
was
a
impo ta t
pa t.
Roses
p oduce
sce ts
f om
volatile
compou ds,
a d
the
mixtu e
ca
cha ge
with
co ditio s
such
as
tempe atu e,
humidity
a d
the
age
of
the
flowe .
The
Ame ica
Rose
Society
otes
that
a
ose’s
f ag a ce
ca
i volve
ea ly
200
diffe e t
compou ds.
That
made
the
pla t
useful
fo
a
expe ime t
i
which
the
e vi o me t
itself
was
bei g
alte ed.
1998
Nasa
space
ose
expe ime t
aboa d
Discove y
O
Octobe
29,
1998,
‘Ove ight
Sce tsatio ’
t avelled
i to
o bit
aboa d
Discove y
o
missio
STS-95.
The
pla t
was
about
seve
i ches
tall
a d
was
ca ied
as
pa t
of
a
wide
p og amme
of
life-scie ce
a d
mic og avity
expe ime ts.
The
missio
also
ca ied
77-yea -old
Joh
Gle ,
who
etu ed
to
space
decades
afte
his
fi st
flight.The
ose
was
housed
i side
a
ASTROCULTURE
chambe
developed
by
the
Wisco si
Ce t e
fo
Space
Automatio
a d
Robotics
at
the
U ive sity
of
Wisco si -Madiso .
The
system
p ovided
co t olled
co ditio s
fo
the
pla t,
i cludi g
light,
tempe atu e,
humidity
a d
ut ie ts.
Two
buds
ope ed
du i g
the
flight,
givi g
the
ast o auts
mate ial
that
could
actually
be
sampled.The
expe ime t
was
a
collabo atio
betwee
Nasa,
the
Wisco si
ce t e
a d
I te atio al
Flavou s
a d
F ag a ces,
o
IFF.
Fo
the
f ag a ce
compa y,
the
att actio
was
p actical
as
well
as
scie tific.
IFF
wa ted
to
k ow
whethe
mic og avity
could
alte
the
compou ds
espo sible
fo
a
flowe ’s
smell
a d,
if
it
did,
whethe
that
cha ge
might
p ovide
a
ew
i g edie t
fo
pe fumes
o
flavou s.
Acco di g
to
Nasa,
the
wo k
was
a
i vestigatio
i to
how
educed
g avity
affected
the
p oductio
of
esse tial
oils
i
livi g
flowe s.
How
ast o auts
collected
f ag a ce
samples
f om
the
ose
i
space
The
ast o auts
collected
samples
f om
the
flowe s
usi g
a
silico e
fib e
desig ed
to
captu e
volatile
molecules.
Fou
samples
we e
take ,
a d
each
p oduced
a
diffe e t
esult.
The
fi al
sce t
p ofile
was
calculated
f om
those
samples
befo e
the
mate ial
was
se t
back
fo
fu the
a alysis
o
Ea th.
What
eme ged
was
ot
simply
a
st o ge
o
weake
ve sio
of
the
familia
ose
a oma.
IFF
fou d
that
the
flowe
had
p oduced
fewe
volatile
oils
i
space
tha
compa able
oses
g ow
u de
o mal
co ditio s.
Whe
scie tists
eco st ucted
the
f ag a ce
i
the
labo ato y,
the
diffe e ce
became
clea e .
The
familia
f esh,
g ee
cha acte
had
shifted
towa ds
a
diffe e t
flo al
ose
a oma.That
disti ctio
matte s
because
f ag a ce
is
ot
dete mi ed
by
o e
i g edie t.
A
flowe ’s
smell
comes
f om
a
mixtu e
of
compou ds
eleased
i to
the
su ou di g
ai .
Cha ge
the
amou ts
o
p opo tio s
of
those
compou ds
a d
the
ose
ca
pe ceive
the
esult
diffe e tly,
eve
though
the
flowe
itself
emai s
ecog isably
the
same.
Nasa’s
accou t
says
the
expe ime t
had
bee
expected
to
p oduce
some
cha ge
i
the
sce t,
si ce
the
esea che s
we e
i te ested
i
what
would
happe
to
esse tial
oils
u de
mic og avity.
What
they
obtai ed
was
a
disti ctly
diffe e t
f ag a ce
p ofile.
How
Nasa’s
1998
space
ose
became
a
comme cial
f ag a ce
i g edie t
The
u usual
a oma
did
ot
emai
a
labo ato y
cu iosity.
IFF
developed
it
i to
what
became
k ow
as
the
“space
ose”
ote
a d
comme cialised
it
as
a
f ag a ce
i g edie t.
The
compa y
late
supplied
the
i g edie t
fo
Shiseido’s
Ze
pe fume,
which
was
desc ibed
as
combi i g
flo al,
woody
a d
spi itual
otes.The
oute
f om
shuttle
expe ime t
to
pe fume
illust ates
o e
of
the
less
obvious
uses
of
space
esea ch.
The
o igi al
expe ime t
was
ot
about
p oduci g
a
pe fume
i
o bit.
It
was
about
u de sta di g
how
a
livi g
pla t
espo ds
whe
o e
of
the
most
familia
fo ces
i
its
e vi o me t
is
la gely
emoved.
The
comme cial
value
came
afte wa ds,
whe
the
alte ed
chemist y
was
ide tified
a d
ep oduced.IFF
also
saw
possible
applicatio s
beyo d
fi e
f ag a ce.
Nasa
epo ted
that
the
esulti g
ose
oil
could
be
used
to
i flue ce
flavou s,
ope i g
a othe
possible
oute
i to
the
food
i dust y.
How
mic og avity
cha ged
the
chemist y
behi d
the
ose’s
f ag a ce
Pla ts
do
ot
simply
sit
i
thei
su ou di gs;
they
co sta tly
espo d
to
them.
Light,
tempe atu e,
humidity
a d
g avity
all
fo m
pa t
of
the
e vi o me t
i
which
pla t
tissues
develop
a d
p oduce
chemicals.
F ag a ce
compou ds
a e
amo g
those
chemical
p oducts.
The
ose
expe ime t
offe ed
a
pa ticula ly
u usual
way
of
isolati g
o e
e vi o me tal
diffe e ce.
I side
the
shuttle’s
co t olled
g owi g
chambe ,
the
pla t
eceived
the
co ditio s
equi ed
to
stay
alive
while
expe ie ci g
mic og avity.
The
esulti g
cha ge
i
volatile
oil
p oductio
suggested
that
g avity,
di ectly
o
i di ectly,
could
i flue ce
the
chemist y
behi d
flo al
sce t.
The
Ame ica
Rose
Society
desc ibes
the
expe ime t
as
a
attempt
to
u de sta d
how
low
g avity
alte ed
the
familia
f ag a ce
of
the
ose.It
was
a
small
expe ime t,
i volvi g
a
small
pla t
a d
a
ha dful
of
flowe s.
But
its
subject
was
u usually
specific:
ot
whethe
pla ts
ca
g ow
i
space,
but
whethe
a
flowe
ca
smell
diffe e t
whe
it
does.
Ove ight
Sce tsatio :
The
fi st
ose
to
t avel
i to
oute
space
‘Ove ight
Sce tsatio ’
eve tually
became
associated
with
a
piece
of
spaceflight
histo y.
The
Ame ica
Rose
Society
eco ds
it
as
the
fi st
ose
to
t avel
i to
oute
space
a d
otes
that
its
eputatio
ests
as
much
o
its
f ag a ce
as
o
its
u usual
jou ey.
Nasa
flew
a othe
ose
o
a
shuttle
i
2008,
but
that
was
a
diffe e t
u de taki g.
The
flowe
was
i te ded
fo
the
New
Yea ’s
Rose
Pa ade
i
Pasade a
a d
was
ot
pa t
of
the
f ag a ce
expe ime t.The
1998
expe ime t
the efo e
emai s
disti ctive
fo
what
happe ed
to
the
flowe ‘s
chemist y
athe
tha
simply
whe e
the
pla t
t avelled.
A
mi iatu e
ose
g ow
i side
a
spacec aft
p oduced
a
diffe e t
mixtu e
of
volatile
compou ds;
scie tists
a alysed
the
cha ge,
a d
a
f ag a ce
compa y
tu ed
that
alte ed
p ofile
i to
a
comme cial
i g edie t.
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