An Australian-led space agriculture experiment is set to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) tomorrow, marking a major milestone for Australia’s growing space and advanced manufacturing sector.

The project, led by the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) and funded by the iLAuNCH Trailblazer, will send two compact greenhouse payloads into orbit to study plant growth in microgravity using advanced imaging and artificial intelligence.

Project lead Associate Professor Cheryl McCarthy and her team are currently in the United States completing final pre-launch preparations ahead of the scheduled 12 February 2026 (US time) liftoff.

The experiment will use camera systems to continuously monitor plant growth on the ISS, capturing daily imagery that will be analysed to detect plant stress before it becomes visible to the human eye. Two plant chambers will be flown, one designed to support healthy growth conditions and the other to intentionally induce stress, allowing researchers to compare growth patterns in real time.

“In this project, we are sending two small greenhouses to the International Space Station which contain plants, and we are going to use cameras to monitor their growth,” said Associate Professor Cheryl McCarthy.

The launch follows months of extensive ground testing, safety reviews and documentation to meet the strict requirements for payloads flown to the ISS. The team has conducted multiple full practice runs of the experiment using the same components that will now be sent to space.

At the launch site, the team will finalise the experiment by sterilising the plant chambers, loading seeds and growth media, sealing the payload and handing it over for integration prior to launch.

“We have had to do months and months of ground testing for this experiment to send it to space, and everything needs to meet very stringent safety requirements before it can fly,” said Associate Professor McCarthy.

Understanding how to grow plants reliably in space is critical for future long-duration and deep-space missions, where plants are expected to play a role not only in food production, but also in materials and medical manufacturing.

The technology being tested also has strong applications on Earth, particularly in remote or automated agricultural environments. By combining machine vision, sensors and AI-driven analysis, the system could enable plants to be monitored and managed without constant human oversight.

The project is funded by the iLAuNCH Trailblazer and led by UniSQ in collaboration with international and industry partners. Axiom Space (USA) provides spaceflight and payload expertise, while Yuri Gravity (Germany) has supported experiment design, electronics manufacturing and launch logistics. Australian agricultural business Medicinal Harvest has supported ground-based trials of the technology.

With launch imminent, the mission represents a significant step forward in Australia’s capability to design, test and deliver complex payloads for space, while creating technologies with real-world benefits back on Earth.

Image captions: UniSQ Associate Professor Cheryl McCarthy and Research Assistant Isaac Halling conducting lab testing.

About iLAuNCH

The Innovative Launch, Automation, Novel Materials, Communications and Hypersonics (iLAuNCH) Trailblazer is part of Trailblazer Universities Program administered by Australian Government Department of Education. ILAuNCH is led by the University of Southern Queensland in partnership with the Australian National University and the University of South Australia. This program is building Australia’s enduring space capability through the commercialisation of projects, a fast-track accelerator, and skills development to build the workforce of the future. To find out more, visit ilaunch.space.

About Axiom Space

Axiom Space is building the world’s first commercial space station – Axiom Station. Serving as a cornerstone for sustained human presence in space, this next-generation orbital platform fosters groundbreaking innovation and research in microgravity, and cultivates the vibrant, global space economy of tomorrow. Today, driven by the vision of leading humanity’s journey off planet, Axiom Space is the principal provider of commercial human spaceflight services to the International Space Station and developer of advanced spacesuits for the Moon and low-Earth orbit. Axiom Space is building era-defining space infrastructure that will empower our civilization to transcend Earth for the benefit of every human, everywhere. For more information about Axiom Space, visit www.axiomspace.com.

About Yuri Gravity

Yuri Gravity (Yuri) is a pioneering space-biotech company on a mission to bring microgravity research and biotechnology into a new era. Founded in 2019 and based in Meckenbeuren, Germany, Yuri combines a multidisciplinary team of space engineers and biologists to provide end-to-end life-science research services.