Japan to Send Seeds Again Into Space in Place of Missing Ones (something's not right here)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Thursday it will put the same types of plant seeds as those that were taken into space last August but have since gone missing on the space shuttle Discovery when it is launched in September.

Article Source

The JAXA said it will shoulder the costs to be incurred in taking the seeds again to Japan's Kibo laboratory module in the September mission.

Missing are 120 grams of soybeans, hops and other seeds entrusted to JAXA by Leave a nest Co., a Tokyo-based science education venture which paid some 3 million yen to have the seeds taken into space for an 8-month storage period aboard the lab module.

The Discovery's voyage last month, by which the seeds were supposedly brought back to Earth, attracted much attention in Japan as it carried Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki, who was in charge of checking the shuttle's cargo.

The Japanese venture had the seeds stored to implement a series of experiments for educational events at Japanese high schools after they were brought back to Earth, including comparing the growth of plants from those seeds with some that did not go into space, but has decided to put off the events.

JAXA official Yoshinori Yoshimura said he expects the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration to charge JAXA "only hundreds of thousands of yen" to take plant seeds again into space, as the same kinds of seeds are to be sent, requiring no repetition of costly safety scrutiny.

Around July 1, the NASA will release a report detailing the results of its investigation into the missing seeds after completing hearings with an agent involved in the loading and the off-loading of the seeds to and from the shuttle, JAXA said. In late April, JAXA was notified by NASA that the seeds were missing despite records showing they were brought back to Earth by the shuttle.

There are some odd holes in this story imo, something isn't adding up. July 1st NASA will release a report which I am sure will be the whole truth on the matter

[edit on 5/31/2010 by UberL33t]

What do you think happened to them?

Think they didn't send them in order to save money and cash in on what was payed to have them sent? Could have kept them here at Earth until they arrived back... until they lost them. haha

reply to post by The_Zomar

Missing are 120 grams

and this...

JAXA was notified by NASA that the seeds were missing despite records showing they were brought back to Earth by the shuttle.

This is what gets me, it wasn't like they would have taken up too much space (no pun). So either they never went, or they're still up there. I am sure every bit of cargo is accompanied by miles of manifests that log every movement of articles brought to and from space.

I still think there is more to this though, my "Spidey" sense is tingling on this one

I'm thinking the people aboard the space station got bored with eating the same meals everyday and wanted a little variety in their diet.

Maybe a large farm corp lobbied to have GMO seeds sent up there...to project the viability and unbeatable goodness of GMO.

Obviously the seeds were mutated by a gamma ray burst and made their way through the shuttle's ventilation shafts until they were in a position to attack any astronaut that was out of sight for more than a few seconds. Right now, a lone astronaut is trying to convince NASA officials that something is wrong with his colleagues who have begun drinking heavily and taking long showers.

Don't know what happened but I am curious. What kind of great beer could be discovered while using "space hops"? Sounds tasty and I am up for any testing that needs to happen.

I know what happened.. They send Hops..

They made Space Beer ! and then ate the soybeans for munchies .

In 20 years some punk kid is going to cite this on youholotube as evidence that the whole shuttle program was a hoax, as was ISS in general.

Seeds that are send to space gives enormous vegetables...

I bet some derelict NASA chump unwittingly through them in the garbage...

Maybe they were stolen as a souvenir by one of the unpackers of the shuttle cargo. Would be easy if it was a small enough package. .......