"Watermeal: Earth's Tiniest Plant, Astronauts' Vital Lifeline"

Researchers from Mahidol University in Thailand conducted experiments on watermeal, the smallest flowering plant on Earth, to study its growth and development under hypergravity conditions. Watermeal, which is smaller than duckweed, was subjected to 20 times normal Earth gravity using ESA's Large Diameter Centrifuge. The plant's ability to produce oxygen through photosynthesis and its potential as a nutritious food source for astronauts make it a promising candidate for space-based agriculture. The team aims to understand how watermeal adapts to different gravity environments and plans to conduct detailed chemical analysis on the plant's hypergravity response.