Milton Keynes schools sow the seeds for space exploration

British Astronaut Tim Peake has asked schools to get involved. He sent more than a million seeds back to Earth and said: “Conditions here on the International Space Station are quite different from on planet Earth, due to us being weighless here in orbit.”

Children at the Bletchley-based school for children with special needs are measuring the seeds’ growth and recording findings which will be analysed along with the data from other participating schools.

“This is really an exciting project and we are all delighted to be involved in helping the space programme at Roman Fields,” said head teacher Diane Elleman.

“The children are embarking on a voyage of discovery to see what growing plants in space can teach us about life on Earth and whether we can sustain human life in space through the production of our own food.”

Pupils at Wavendon Gate School are growing Rocket seeds as part of the project, with a number of other MK schools also taking part.

The Milton Keynes findings will figure among nationwide results that will be collated and analysed by professional biostatisticians.