2 of 13

First the Seed Foundation at https://www.firsttheseedfoundation.org/ is supporting this Investigation Station by providing a special link to NASA HUNCH Academy teachers. Normally teachers can only order tomatoshpere seeds in the Fall and Spring but if you register on the NASA HUNCH Academy website you can use the following link. The First the Seed Foundation will mail you seeds whenever you are ready to do the Tomatoshpere Investigation Station

https://www.firsttheseedfoundation.org/programs/tomatosphere-registration- form?source=HUNCH

First the Seed Foundation will mail 2 different packages of tomato seeds. One package was sent to the International Space Station for 5 weeks on SpaceX CRS-23 in 2021!!! The other package never left Earth. Student teams of all ages are to observe when the seeds germinate keeping track of which package X or Y the seeds came in. Once you submit your observations using the worksheet on the next slide, you will be told which package went to space.

Investigation Station #2 By Tomatoshpere

And First the Seed Foundation

3 of 13

Planting Tomato Seeds from Tomatoshpere with Brittany Koger

https://youtu.be/XB3BPlhKr9g

https://youtube.com/@brittanynasahunch?si=LXYaRTnBs6fDUbZZ

4 of 13

https://youtu.be/2_7KwITMQF8

Planting Tomato Seeds from Tomatoshpere with Rose and Flo

5 of 13

What is the team’s hypothesis if there will be any difference in days to germination between seeds from space and seeds that have only been on Earth? Why?
Why knowing the difference in germination times between seeds that went to space and those on Earth may be important to NASA?

A hypothesis is an educated guess. Always backup your hypothesis with why you made that predication.

This Data Collection Sheet is found at:

https://www.firsttheseedfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Tomatosphere-Data-Collection-Sheet.pdf

It is important to keep watching for new plants that germinate withing 21 days

To answer all your questions please read the Frequently Asked Questions at https://www.firsttheseedfoundation.org/resource/frequently-asked-questions/#1

6 of 13

Data collection worksheets and discussion questions

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kqu-ouUjzlLDB3GWLGRCrTEA-W6fPMw2iGZ92NFTGks/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o8l9w0pkzwEE14l2Tkjq6n1cTplWjHZ41qlgBJQVgR4/edit?usp=sharing

7 of 13

Food for thought: Let’s talk Tomatosphere™ with astronaut Thomas Pesquet�

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU5kpIQ09Iw

8 of 13

Questions to think about?

What vegetable or fruit would you miss the most when on a mission to the Moon or Mars? Why?
What fruit or vegetable do you think would provide you with the best nutrients?
Do you think tomatoes will taste the same in space as they do on Earth? Why or why not?
Would you like to study about plants? Why or why not?

9 of 13

Germinating Tomato Seeds FAST - No More Failed Seeds!

By Geeky Greenhouse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VopUFWVPDz8

This Video lets you see how the tomato seeds grow for their first 24 days- Interesting some seeds did not germinate until after 13 or more days, so don’t give up on your seeds!

By Marlborough College in England partnered

with ISS National Lab

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYW8hCey4RE

Tomatoshpere Time Lapse

10 of 13

Kindergarten NGSS Science standards covered in this lesson.

K-LS1-1.Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.

K-ESS2-2. Construct an argument supported by evidence for how plants and animals (including humans) can change the environment to meet their needs.

K-ESS3-1.Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants and animals (including humans) and the places they live.

LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms All animals need food in order to live and grow. They obtain their food from plants or from other animals. Plants need water and light to live and grow. (K-LS1-1) ESS2.E: Biogeology Plants and animals can change their environment. (K-ESS2-2)

ESS3.A: Natural Resources Living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do. (K-ESS3-1)ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems Things that people do to live comfortably can affect the world around them. But they can make choices that reduce their impacts on the land, water, air, and other living things. (K-ESS3-3)ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions Designs can be conveyed through sketches, drawings, or physical models. These representations are useful in communicating ideas for a problem’s solutions to other people.

1st Grade NGSS Science standards covered in this lesson

1-LS1-1.Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.*

1-LS3-1.Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.

LS1.A: Structure and Function. All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water and air. Plants also have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow. (1-LS1-1)

LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms. Adult plants and animals can have young. In many kinds of animals, parents and the offspring themselves engage in behaviors that help the offspring to survive. (1-LS1-2)

11 of 13

2nd grade NGSS Science standards covered in this lesson.

2-LS2-1.Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow.

2-LS2-2.Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants.*

2-LS4-1.Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.

LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems. Plants depend on water and light to grow. (2-LS2-1). Plants depend on animals for pollination or to move their seeds around. (2-LS2-2)

LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water. (2-LS4-1)

3rd Grade NGSS Science standards covered in this lesson.

3-LS4-4.Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.

3-LS4-3.Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.

LS4.C: Adaptation. For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. (3-LS4-3)

LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans. Populations live in a variety of habitats, and change in those habitats affects the organisms living there. (3-LS4-4)

LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms. Reproduction is essential to the continued existence of every kind of organism. Plants and animals have unique and diverse life cycles. (3-LS1-1)

12 of 13

4th Grade NGSS Science standards covered in this lesson

4-LS1-1.Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.

LS1.A: Structure and Function. Plants and animals have both internal and external structures that serve various functions in growth, survival, behavior, and reproduction. (4-LS1-1)

ESS2.E: Biogeology. Living things affect the physical characteristics of their regions. (4-ESS2-1)

5th Grade NGSS Science standards covered in this lesson

5-LS1-1. Support an argument that plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water.

5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.

LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems. The food of almost any kind of animal can be traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants. Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants or plants parts and animals) and therefore operate as “decomposers.” Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met. A healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species of different types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life. Newly introduced species can damage the balance of an ecosystem. (5-LS2-1)

LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems. Matter cycles between the air and soil and among plants, animals, and microbes as these organisms live and die. Organisms obtain gases, and water, from the environment, and release waste matter (gas, liquid, or solid) back into the environment. (5-LS2-1)

13 of 13

Middle School 6th - 8th g\Grade NGSS Science standards covered in this lesson

MS-LS1-6.Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.

MS-LS2-1.Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.

LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms. Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. These sugars can be used immediately or stored for growth or later use. (MS-LS1-6)Within individual organisms, food moves through a series of chemical reactions in which it is broken down and rearranged to form new molecules, to support growth, or to release energy. (MS-LS1-7)

LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems. Organisms, and populations of organisms, are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors. (MS-LS2-1). In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other for limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction. (MS-LS2-1). Growth of organisms and population increases are limited by access to resources. (MS-LS2-1)

LS2.B: Cycle of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems. Food webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy is transferred between producers, consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact within an ecosystem. Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every level. Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem. (MS-LS2-3)

LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience. Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations. (MS-LS2-4)PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life. The chemical reaction by which plants produce complex food molecules (sugars) requires an energy input (i.e., from sunlight) to occur. In this reaction, carbon dioxide and water combine to form carbon-based organic molecules and release oxygen. (secondary to MS-LS1-6). Cellular respiration in plants and animals involve chemical reactions with oxygen that release stored energy. In these processes, complex molecules containing carbon react with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and other materials. (secondary to MS-LS1-7)

MS-LS2-2.Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.

MS-LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.

MS-LS1-5.Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.