Experiment on growing edible crops on NASA flight

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — NASA's second SpaceX mission to the International Space Station will carry an experiment developed by a University of Mississippi biologist.

The launch is scheduled for Friday from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in Florida. The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the space station.

The experiment, by John Z. Kiss, dean of the Ole Miss Graduate School, involves seedling growth.

Kiss, who will be at the launch, says in a news release that the experiment will study light and gravity signaling in plants and their effects on cell growth and proliferation.

He says the experiment may lead to improving crop species on Earth to obtain increased production and sustainability.

This project started in 2011 and was selected through an international competition.