Tropical Plant Will Orbit Earth With Brazil's First Astronaut

BRASILIA, Brazil, January 10, 2006 (ENS) - On March 22, Brazil will, for the first time, send an astronaut, Lt. Col. Marco Pontes of the Brazilian Air Force, on a mission into space.

Pontes will be taking nine Brazilian scientific experiments with him, Agencia Brasil reports. One of them, prepared by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Company (EMBRAPA), is intended to evaluate how a seed from a tropical tree behaves aboard a space station - in this case, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

According to the scientist in charge, Antonieta Salomao, the experiment will help in understanding more about the physiological processes involved in seed germination. "Once we understand more, we can transmit more solid information to farmers," she explained.

Before making the journey into space, the project will be subjected to preliminary testing at the National Space Research Institute in Sao Jose dos Campos, in the state of Sao Paulo.

"Passing this test, under simulated flight conditions, is indispensable for all the nine projects that are part of the mission," Salomao said. The experiments have mainly to do with the fields of engineering, physics, microelectronics, nanotechnology, and biotechnology.

Brazilian astronaut Lt. Col. Marco Pontes of the Brazilian Air Force is also an astronaut with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (Photo courtesy NASA)

The trip was dubbed the Centennial Mission, in honor of the 100th anniversary of Brazilian inventor Santos Dumont's first flight on the 14 Bis, an early airplane he designed and built.

What made the mission possible was an agreement signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva last October with Russia, which conceded to Brazil a 50 percent discount on the amount - around US$20 million - it usually charges for space travel.

"The Brazilian cosmonaut’s flight has been set for late March 2006 at the insistent request of Brazil, which failed to launch its cosmonaut under a program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)," Federal Space Agency chief Anatoly Perminov told Russia’s Interfax news agency.

Pontes holds a master of science degree in systems engineering from Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California which he earned in 1998 after 14 years in aeronautical accident investigation with the Brazilian Air Force, a four year education as an aeronautical engineer, and a year as a test pilot.

After Pontes graduated from Naval Postgraduate School in 1998, he was selected for the NASA astronaut program and reported to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas to attend astronaut training.

Pontes is currently assigned to the NASA Astronaut Office Space Station Operations Branch. NASA says he will serve on administrative and technical assignments until assigned to a space flight.