Experiments with air-dried seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana (L) Heynh. and Crepis capillaris (L) Wallr., aboard Salyut 6.

Space flight factors resulted in the accumulation of genetic damage in embryonic meristem cells of seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana and Crepis capillaris in flights of different duration (49, 226, 408 and 827 days) aboard the orbital station Salyut 6. As a result, the viability of seeds and seedlings was reduced, and the sterility of plants grown from seeds exposed on Salyut 6 was increased. The effect depended upon the flight duration. The data obtained suggest an acceleration of seed aging under flight conditions.