Tomatosphere

Principal investigation

The Tomatosphere objective is to compare the germination rate of tomato seeds and the vigour of growth of tomato plants, after seed exposure to the following environmental conditions:

• Exposure to conditions in the Earth's environment only (the control group).
• Seeds that were subjected to a simulated space environment at the University of Guelph for a 3-month time period. The simulation approximates what might happen to the seeds if there was a breach in the storage system on a vehicle (with astronauts) going to Mars for the first time.

• The scientific method

• Theory
  • Seeds and germination
• Prediction
  • Seed treatment
• The experiment
• Observations
  • Collecting and recording your data
• Reporting your results
• Extension ideas
  • Further tomato plant research