Above: The image above shows the the spiral formation of a moss culture gown during the 1997 Space Shuttle mission. Researchers suspect that those spirals resulted from a residual spacing mechanism intended to control colony growth and the distribution of branches, a mechanism that is normally suppressed by the stronger influence of gravity on earth.

Left: An image of the common roof moss (Ceratodon purpureus) used in the current experiments aboard Space Shuttle Columbia. The image and additional information on the plant are available from the Ohio University Bryophyte Home Page.

Time-lapse video of the growth of a Ceratodon purpureus protonema can be found at Professor Sack's laboratory home page.