Every innovation starts with an idea, and rooibos is currently making waves in global space. This shows that agri-science isn’t only breathing in boardrooms; it is practically running through its paces out in the field.
Mzansi is trending for all the right reasons in the agricultural sector as the Rooibos in Space project officially launches its mission. Liftoff is set for this October aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS), a cosmic journey that drives STEM education directly into our classrooms to inspire the next generation of local learners.
To peel back the layers of this historic launch, Food For Mzansi sat down with South African Rooibos Council (SARC) director Dawie de Villiers. He breaks down the mechanics of sending a local staple into orbit, the timeline for the upcoming rocket launch, and how the project is actively transforming agricultural classrooms into space laboratories.
South African rooibos is heading to the International Space Station. Can you tell us more about this extraordinary mission and how the opportunity came about?
Dawie de Villiers: Our rooibos seeds are hitching a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS). They will remain there for approximately six weeks, where they will be subjected to microgravity and exposed to space radiation before returning to Earth for trial work.
We were exceptionally fortunate to be offered the opportunity to share a ride with other scientific experiments heading to space. It is an absolute honour for us to have our iconic South African product included in this mission, allowing us to showcase a healthy, versatile, and delicious local staple to a global audience.
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Organising a space mission involves immense complexity. What did it take behind the scenes to get this project off the ground?
It required an immense amount of quick, intensive work from everyone involved. We had to rapidly determine the logistics, contact and confirm our partner schools, design the specific classroom experiments, and finalise critical milestone dates to align with the rocket’s strict launch schedule.
Does this mean rooibos could eventually be grown on future space missions, or is the research focused closer to home?
To be clear, rooibos is not being considered for space exploration missions or astronaut diets at this stage. This is strictly exploratory research to see how the plant performs after the seeds have been subjected to the harsh environment of space. If we observe distinct, measurable differences in how they grow upon their return, that will pave the way for a completely separate, deeper research project.
A major component of this initiative involves local schools. Which institutions are participating, and how were they selected?
We have a wonderful selection of schools from the heart of the rooibos-growing Cederberg region taking part, including Môrester Akademie in Vanrhynsdorp, Sederberg Primary School and Clanwilliam Sekondêr in Clanwilliam, Cederberg Academy in Citrusdal, Graafwater Primer in Graafwater, PW De Bruin Primary School in Lambert’s Bay, and Hoërskool Piketberg in Piketberg.
Apart from these, Parklands College in Cape Town is also participating as a strategic project partner, bringing their established space science programme and extensive experience in designing educational experiments for space missions to the table.
Our selection process was intentionally designed to maximise participation rather than to be exclusive. The Western Cape department of education, alongside MaxIQ Space, invited schools across the rooibos-growing region to apply. We initially intended to select only five schools, but the partners quickly recognised the unique educational value of this initiative.
We decided to broaden our scope and include every single eligible school that expressed an interest and submitted an application, ensuring as many learners as possible from these agricultural communities can experience this once-in-a-lifetime scientific opportunity.
How will the classroom experiments work, and what is the expected timeline for the launch and the final results?
The rocket is scheduled for launch in October. Following its six weeks in orbit, we expect the seeds to return to South Africa in the early part of 2027, ideally around February, though this depends entirely on the final mission schedule.
Once back, the learners will receive two distinct batches of seeds: the space-exposed batch and a control batch that remained on Earth. They will be given specialised kits and instructions to germinate, cultivate, and measure the plants during the natural rooibos planting season between February and March.
Because rooibos seeds typically germinate within two to three weeks, schools will be able to observe and compare initial growth rates very quickly. The South African Rooibos Council hopes this project will be deeply inspirational, prompting these young learners to move into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. If that inspiration is all we achieve, we will consider the project a massive success.
However, if we do observe altered plant performance as a direct result of microgravity and radiation, we will certainly explore those biological aspects much more deeply.
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