‘Rocket Science’ reaches Orkney

School pupils across Orkney are getting the chance to plant seeds that have been in space for six months.

Rocket Science is a nationwide project that sees pupils from around 10,000 UK schools compare the germination of the space seeds to seeds that have remained on earth.

It is being delivered in partnership by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and the UK Space Agency.

Two kilograms of rocket salad seeds were launched into space last September by the European Space Agency and looked after for six months by astronaut Tim Peake on the International Space Station.

While in space, they were kept in micro-gravity conditions orbiting the earth at 17,000 mph.

Kirkwall Grammar School’s seeds were delivered last Wednesday, with the planting scheduled to commence the following day. The pupils received the seeds in two different packages but will not know which seeds were in space and which were not.

The pupils will analyse the plants for 35 days by taking measurements each week and comparing the germination and growth of the two different seeds without knowing which were in space and which were not.

Throughout the experiment, the pupils will record when the first seed germinates, when the first leaves appear, the average height of the plants and how many are alive after 35 days. The results will then be entered into a national database.