In the 21st century, owing to food insecurity, global economic and regional instability, it has become necessary to produce seeds and food resistive to the changing global climate change. Particularly, another reason to take secure steps towards “the new food” is supply chain vulnerabilities and climate change. Mutagenesis has been introduced as an alternative to the traditional food items, introducing traits such as increased nutrition, lower watering requirements, resistance to high or low temperatures and resilience against diseases. Mainly, the mutagenesis is of two types:

1: Nuclear Mutagenesis

2: Space Mutagenesis

Nuclear Mutagenesis makes the use of gamma rays, x-rays and ion beams from the Earth sources while Space mutagenesis is a quite conplex process in which the seeds of the plants to be mutated, are sent into space where cosmic radiations, high solar energy and low gravity have a great impact on the growth and development of the plants. The comprehensive mutations and chromosomal abberations are then passed onto future generations and these plants,upon returning to Earth, prove to be more productive and better versions of old plant seeds but every plant doesn’t come back to Earth as “ Super plant” . The method of the nuclear mutagenesis has been around 1920s and it usually is non- productive due to extremely strong radiations, speeding up the natural process of mutation inside the plants to a harmful extent. Nevertheless, many efficient versions of plants have also been produced with the help of IAEA( International Atomic Energy Agency). But, above all, the space mutagenesis has been a truly revolutionary success.

                                                                                              Space Mutagenesis, being a highly expensive process, was only afforded by a very few countries such as Soviet Union, US and China. Experiments were conducted by Soviet and American scientists using carrot cells which were launched into space in Soviet satellite Kosmos-182. The ISS ( International Space Station) uses VEGGIE system which contains lighting and nutrients for a space garden. Different colors of light such as Red, Blue and Green are used, so that the plants don’t look bizarre. Coming to the nutrients, the plants get their nutrients from a pillow and pillows can come in various sizes, depending upon the plants being grown in it. The plants on space grower faster than the ones on Earth. More recently, China has been conducting numerous experiments since 1987, making over 200 space- mutated plant varieties. In May 2022, more than 12,000 seeds of different types were sent into space, making China the only country which is consistently using this technique.

In the upcoming years, rising temperatures and infertility of land will surely be a great deal to be dealt with, but my this method of space mutagenesis, we can send our astronauts to long missions by providing space-mutated food to them. Moreover, it would be more beneficial for the people on Earth, eliminating all the current issues related to both horticulture and agriculture. These “Superpower Seeds” may give psychological benefits to the astronauts, according to Dr. Giona Massa, one of the scientists working on space mutagenesis. It has been observed that gardening and greenary increase positive mood, making people more relaxed, pleased and optimistic. The future will be, undoubtedly, full of challenges and problems, but their prior preparation will certainly make them more easier to combat and these preparations will make sure the humanity survives amid catastrophic events. Space mutagenesis is one of those preparations. Hope it proves to be advantageous for the whole humanity.