UF will be using rocket fuel to generate biofuel during next week’s shuttle launch.
The final voyage of NASA’s space shuttle Discovery will house a set of experiments, one designed by UF specifically to see if the tropical plant known as Jatropha curcas can be commercially grown in warm temperate areas like the southern U.S.
The researchers will be on the lookout for genes that hinder or help the growth of the plant and its development in microgravity environments.
Wagner Vendrame, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Horticulture in Homestead is one of the main researchers on the project.
Though he could not be reached for comment, Vendrame explains on his website that the Jatropha curcas has been identified as a potential alternative energy crop for biofuel production and such studies may lead to significant discoveries related to plant biology and medicine.
The experiments, in cooperation with the University of Colorado, will be carried out in specially designed fluid-processing cylinders that will travel inside an automated, suitcase-sized device used on more than 20 NASA shuttle missions.
According to Green Energy News, the plant itself produces seeds, also known as Barbados nuts, that are an excellent source of biofuel. The seeds yield more than four times as much fuel per hectare as soybeans and more than ten times that of corn. They also have some medicinal qualities. The space shuttle Discovery will blast off Monday. Experiment samples will be on the space station until the next mission at the end of February when they come home to Earth.
