Program Information

NASA Kids Science News segment explaining how plants grow in space.

NASA Kids Science News Network™ is a news-style standards-based program that uses the Web, animation, and video to introduce science, technology, engineering, math, and NASA concepts. NASA's KSNN™ uses animated characters (grades K-2) and Web and video technology (grades 3-5) to explain everyday phenomena of our world, correct misconceptions, and answer frequently asked questions.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Cory with
science news that you can use.

Why do plants grow up?

Is it because they grow
towards light?

(Cory)
That's true,
but plants also use gravity
to know what is up
and what is down.

On Earth, plants can sense
the direction that gravity
is pulling them,
and they grow
in the opposite direction.

Oh, and what happens in space
where there is no up or down?

(Cory)
Experiments in space have shown
that in less gravity,
plants still grow towards light.

NASA scientists are planning
more experiments in space
to better understand why plants
still grow towards light
even though
there is no gravity present.

(Ayanna)
NASA knows plants will be
important in space
because they will consume
the carbon dioxide we exhale,
give us oxygen and food,
and purify our water.

To learn more about plants
in space, check out our website.

Until next time,
I'm Cory with cool
science news that you can use.

Virginia Standards