Workshop on future directions for plant research at NASA: a report

NASA's Fundamental Space Biology Division and the Advanced Human Support Technology Program convened a workshop in December 2003 [correction of 2004] at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, to chart future directions for plant research at NASA. The purpose of the workshop was to bring together key managers and principal investigators in NASA's plant research community as well as non-NASA funded researchers to formulate a strategy to guide future plant research for the Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR). Subsequent to the workshop, on Wednesday, January 14, 2004, President George W. Bush announced a proposal for NASA to go back to the moon and later send a manned mission to Mars. The following is a summary of workshop recommendations provided by the plant research community within the framework of the new exploration vision as set for by NASA.