Colorado-Grown Barley Seeds Blast Into Space
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4)- Two of Colorado's greatest assets, aerospace and the beer industry, are joining forces. Colorado-grown barley seeds will soon be in orbit.
"If you were going to live in space wouldn't you like to have a beer at the end of the day?" asked Dr. Gary Hanning.
The space-bound barley variety is fittingly named ABI- Voyager developed by Hanning and a team of researchers at the Global Barley Research Center in Fort Collins.
"Our main purpose is to do actual crop development new barley variety development," said Hanning.
The idea started earlier this year when Anheuser-Busch set a lofty goal to become the first beer on Mars.
"If we're going to brew beer we have to have barley to do that with, so how do we understand the growth of barley in space?" said Hanning.
Their first experiment will be to send barley seeds that have been developed in their Colorado lab to the International Space Station.
For 30 days, those seeds will be fed and watered the same way they are on Earth and then brought back for evaluation.
"Have we changed the grain? Has it been mutated through radiation and all the exposure?" he asked.
While the long-term goal is to get beer into the way space researchers think, the information could lead to improved barley production on this planet.
"What's different in that seed that's germinated in space versus what's here and from that difference now we can start learning what a different environment does to our plants," Hanning said.
The only downside is that the experimental barley will likely never reach a pint glass.
Five Anheuser-Busch staff members from the Fort Collins research center including Hanning will travel to Cape Canaveral, Florida for the rocket launch that will send the seeds to space.
The launch is tentatively scheduled for Dec 12.
Karen Morfitt joined the CBS4 team as a reporter in 2013. She covers a variety of stories in and around the Denver metro area. Connect with her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @karenmorfitt or email her tips.
