Biotechnology

Dr. Weijia Zhou, director of the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, inspects the Advanced Astroculture(tm) plant growth unit before its first flight last spring. Coating technology is used inside the miniature plant greenhouse to remove ethylene, a chemical produced by plant leaves that can cause plants to mature too quickly. This same coating technology is used in a new anthrax-killing device. The Space Station experiment is managed by the Space Product Development Program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. DuPont is partnering with NASA and the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to grow soybeans aboard the Space Station to find out if they have improved oil, protein, carbohydrates or secondary metabolites that could benefit farmers and consumers. Principal Investigators: Dr. Tom Corbin, Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., a Dupont Company, with headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, and Dr. Weijia Zhou, Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR), University of Wisconsin-Madison.