An Australian-led space agriculture experiment is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) today, marking a milestone for Australia’s growing space and advanced manufacturing sector.
The project, led by the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) and funded by the iLAuNCH Trailblazer, will send two compact greenhouse payloads into orbit to study plant growth in microgravity using advanced imaging systems and artificial intelligence.
Project lead Associate Professor Cheryl McCarthy and her team are in the United States completing final pre-launch activities ahead of the planned 12 February 2026 liftoff (US time).
The experiment will use integrated camera systems to continuously monitor plant growth aboard the ISS, capturing daily imagery that will be analysed to identify signs of plant stress before they are visible to the human eye.
Two plant chambers will be flown, with one designed to support healthy growth conditions and the other configured to induce stress, allowing researchers to compare growth responses in real time.
“In this project, we are sending two small greenhouses to the International Space Station which contain plants, and we are going to use cameras to monitor their growth,” Associate Professor McCarthy said.
The launch follows months of ground testing, safety assessments and documentation to meet the stringent requirements for payloads flown to the ISS.
The research team has completed multiple full practice runs using the same hardware that will be sent into orbit.
At the launch site, final preparations include sterilising the plant chambers, loading seeds and growth media, sealing the payloads and handing them over for final integration prior to launch.
“We have had to do months and months of ground testing for this experiment to send it to space, and everything needs to meet very stringent safety requirements before it can fly,” Associate Professor McCarthy said.
Researchers say understanding how to grow plants reliably in microgravity is critical for future long-duration and deep-space missions, where plants are expected to contribute to food production as well as materials and medical manufacturing.
The technology being tested also has potential applications on Earth, particularly in remote or automated agricultural settings. By combining machine vision, sensors and AI-driven analysis, the system could enable crops to be monitored and managed with minimal human intervention.
The project is funded by the iLAuNCH Trailblazer and led by UniSQ in collaboration with international and industry partners.
Axiom Space, based in the United States, is providing spaceflight and payload expertise, while German company Yuri Gravity has supported experiment design, electronics manufacturing and launch logistics. Australian agricultural business Medicinal Harvest has contributed to ground-based trials of the technology.
