World-First Cultural Crop Payload Rocketed Up To The International Space Station (ISS) NASA Crew-11 From Cape Canaveral
World-First Cultural Crop Payload
Rocketed Up To The International Space Station (ISS)
NASA Crew-11 From Cape Canaveral
Sending Pomegranate Seeds to Space: Armenia Joins the International Space Station
via Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian's collaborative Astrobotany Experiment
What: Launch of a world-first cultural crop payload to the ISS, including Armenian pomegranate seeds as part of a broader project on decolonizing space and integrating cultural heritage into future space missions
When: Friday, August 1 at 11:43 EDT With NASA Crew-11- this experiment will be handled in the International Space Station by NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim
Until: Return to Earth: Early August, returning with NASA Crew-10
Where: Cape Canaveral, Florida USA
How: Seeds are sent to space with Crew-11 and undergo time in microgravity and post-flight research into resilience, adaptation, and cultural inheritance. Cross-disciplinary research combining astrobotany, decolonial theory, heritage studies, and extraterrestrial aesthetics
Why: To challenge the militarization and commercial colonization of space by inserting cultural narratives and biodiversity. To honor and amplify Armenian heritage through its symbolic fruit, the pomegranate, as well as the Pakistani, Egyptian and Nigerian, amongst other heritages. To engage in postcolonial, ecofeminist inquiry and promote peaceful, inclusive visions for space futures (not just the billionaire space agendas!) and to study how plants and cultural memory adapt in extreme environments and inspire new frameworks for space exploration.
LONDON / MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - In a year when billionaires are racing for outer space and nation-states accelerate the remilitarisation of space, Dr. Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian - artist, filmmaker, and Designer of Experiences at the SETI Institute, is launching something entirely different into orbit: Armenian pomegranate seeds.
This isn’t just symbolic. It’s a part of a world-first cultural astrobotany experiment, selected through a competitive international process by Jaguar Space and The Karman Project, and headed to the International Space Station (ISS) with Crew-11 and it will be managed in orbit by NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim.
As Principal Investigator for the Armenia payload, Ben Hayoun-Stépanian, Ph.D, is rewriting what- and who-space is for and with.
Pomegranates are a core symbol of Armenia, ubiquitous in iconography. In Armenian mythology, they represent good fortune. The fruit features prominently in Armenian cuisine and also holds a distinct role in many ceremonial traditions, appearing widely across art forms. (For instance, in notable films such as Sergei Parajanov’s The Color of Pomegranates). Meanwhile Astrobotany is the study of plants in space, encompassing both the search for extraterrestrial plant life and the cultivation of terrestrial plants in space environments.
After returning to Earth, the space-bound seeds will be tested against a control sample of seeds that stayed on our planet, opening new windows for how we understand the effects of gravitational changes on crop growth and helping us to imagine extraterrestrial landscapes in the future informed by cultural heritage, botany and agriculture.
“In a time when space and Earth are increasingly marked by militarisation,” says Dr. Ben Hayoun-Stépanian “This mission invites us to question borders, cultural heritage and reimagine seeds, fruits and plants as tools for peaceful engagement, for liberation and postcolonial ecofeminist inquiry.”
The seeds - pomegranates from Armenia, cotton from Egypt, egusi melon from Nigeria, and wheat from Pakistan- will spend time in microgravity before returning to Earth. There, they’ll undergo research into resilience, adaptation, and cultural inheritance in extreme environments. Ben Hayoun-Stépanian Ph.D’s payload specifically foregrounds heritage, biodiversity, and the decolonization of space. The mission includes collaboration with Prof. George Fayvush, Head of Department at the Yerevan Institute of Botany of the Armenian Academy of Sciences, and additional contributions from SETI Institute scientists Dr. Franck Marchis and Dr. Lauren Sgro. Together, they’ll publish a research paper offering a:
“Critical review of extraterrestrial landscapes and extraterrestrial aesthetics as potential for a global peace effort following the decommissioning of the International Space Station in 2030.”
The initiative is part of Jaguar Space’s Space for Agriculture and Agriculture for Space program, in collaboration with The Karman Project, whose mission is to enable international cooperation and peace in space through unconventional global coalitions.
For Ben Hayoun-Stépanian Ph.D, an advocate for plurality, trans rights, demilitarisation and accessibility, this is the latest node in a 15 years career defined by challenging existing colonial power structures in institutions while documenting and building platforms that support freedom of thought, the creation of organised communities and public events with socio-political impact. She’s the founder of the SETI Institute’s Experiences Department, NASA’s International Space Orchestra, and the tuition free, transnational school University of the Underground. Her prior work includes a lunar analogue mission exploring intergenerational trauma in relation to space exploration, a Piccadilly Circus takeover that beamed human heartbeats to the moon and back, and multiple feature-length films dissecting geopolitics, outer-space through a queer postcolonial lens, diasporic identity, and liberation.
“Beyond its scientific potential to advance research on climate resilience and global food security, the World Seeds payload represents a meaningful step toward ensuring that, as humanity becomes a spacefaring civilization, the millennia-old knowledge, biodiversity, and cultural heritage of communities around the world are carried forward as an essential part of that journey,” said Dr. Luis Zea, Founder of Jaguar Space.
“Our organizations share not only a strong vision for the future, but a strong history, with Jaguar Space’s founder Dr. Luis Zea having been selected for the Karman Fellowship in 2023,” said Hannah Ashford, Managing Director of The Karman Project. “This mission reflects the action-oriented spirit of our Fellowship - empowering our community to lead impactful projects across borders and build a more inclusive space future.”
“As we prepare for humanity’s future in space, we must bring more than technology—we must bring meaning. These seeds carry the story of Armenia, a nation rich in culture, history, and ambition. I visited last year and was struck by the energy of its youth: educated, visionary, and already reaching orbit. This mission is a symbol of what a more inclusive space age can look like.” said Dr. Franck Marchis, director of citizen science at the SETI Institute, Chief Science Officer of Unistellar and Chief Executive Director and co-founder at SkyMapper.
What’s Next: From Orbit to Exhibition
The project’s return to Earth is only the beginning. The pomegranate seeds are scheduled to fly to the ISS with Crew-11 in late July and return with Crew-10 in early August.
In October, Dr. Ben Hayoun-Stépanian heads to Australia where she joins other leaders in space exploration for Powerhouse Museum’s 2025 Sydney Science Festival. She’ll also conduct workshops at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena in fall 2025 and youth organizations worldwide- transforming ISS research into participatory and radical collective imagining.
THE CULTURAL PAYLOAD CREW
Curated and selected through The Karman Project’s global network of fellows from 70+ countries, including:
- Armenian pomegranate - led by Dr. Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian, with contributions from Prof. George Fayvush and the Yerevan Botanic Center, in collaboration with the SETI Institute.
- Egyptian cotton - led by Sara Sabry
- Nigerian egusi melon - led by Dr. Temidayo Oniosun
- Pakistani wheat - led by Mahhad Nayyer
ABOUT THE NELLY BEN HAYOUN-STEPANIAN PH.D (she/they), 1985:
Nelly is a multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, designer of experiences and cultural activist. Their work has premiered at MoMA, V&A, MET, National Museum of China, and Gaité Lyrique and she has collaborated with NASA, the UN, and underground communities worldwide. Nelly is founder of the University of the Underground, NASA’s International Space Orchestra and SETI Institute’s Experiences department; LGBTQA+ nationwide festival Tour de Moon; director of five acclaimed feature films (SXSW, BAFTA nominated, LFF, etc…), and Berlinale Talent 2025. Recent work includes Art of London’s takeover of Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square, culminating in Piccadilly Un:Plugged, a world-first event broadcasting human heartbeats and unreleased tracks from Massive Attack and Pussy Riot to the moon and a world first- a 25-minute screening of Nelly’s film From The Void To The Full on the Piccadilly Lights—a surreal, collage-based journey from the ocean’s depths to the edges of space, exploring humanity’s quest for discovery through fire and electricity.
Her work has flown aboard the International Space Station, where she continues to develop decolonial cultural initiatives focusing on the demilitarisation of outer-space. They work from an artist collective- the Village Underground- based in a train carriage on top of a nightclub in London. She has two doppelgangers who work with her to appear at multiple places at the same time, a Barbie doll and a Lego made of herself. An advocate for plurality and radical imagination, she documents and builds platforms that support freedom of thought, the creation of organised communities and public events, and expeditions with socio-political impact.
In 2023, they led a lunar analogue mission in Spain exploring intergenerational trauma and space futures, resulting in the first academic paper on Intergenerational Trauma and Decolonial Futures in Space Exploration- combining neuropsychology, epigenetics, film, design and critical theory-to challenge oppressive narratives in the field.
Nelly is the former Vice Chair of the IAF (International Astronautical Federation) Technical Committee on the Cultural Utilization of Space (ITACCUS), a member of the IAF Space Education and Outreach Committee (SEOC), a member of the IAF Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Administrative (IDEA) committee, and a member of the IAA (International Academy of Astronautics) Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) permanent committee amongst others. A 2022 Karman fellow, Ben Hayoun- Stépanian founded the session E1.9 on space culture at the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in 2014 to bring critical thinking and outreach together in the formulation of space culture; she has since chaired it. In 2023, Ben Hayoun founded a new session called ‘Decolonial Practices in Space’ at the International Astronautical Congress which focus on the examination, identification and impact of oppressive narratives and behaviors rooted in colonial practices in the space sector while taking into account the systemic character and historical repetition of such narratives in present day disparities. www.nellyben.com
About the SETI Institute:
Founded in 1984, the SETI Institute is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary research and education organization whose mission is to lead humanity’s quest to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the universe and share that knowledge with the world. Our research encompasses the physical and biological sciences and leverages data analytics, machine learning, and advanced signal detection technologies. The SETI Institute is a distinguished research partner for industry, academia, and government agencies, including NASA and the National Science Foundation. www.seti.org
About Jaguar Space:
Jaguar Space is a bioastronautics and business consulting firm dedicated to advancing science and commerce in space. The company leverages a unique combination of expertise in space science, engineering, project management, cross-cultural affairs, and business development to help its customers reach their goals faster and more effectively. https://jaguarspace.net/
About The Karman Project:
The Karman Project is a global non-profit foundation promoting peace and security in space through international cooperation. The foundation’s unique convening power enables it to bring together public and private sector decision-makers to build common understandings and impactful projects that serve sustainability, education, science, security and capacity building efforts. To date, The Karman Project’s highly curated community of entrepreneurs, astronauts, space executives, researchers, and artists from over 70 nations have initiated projects servicing the immediate needs of more than five million people worldwide. The foundation is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. https://www.karmanproject.org/
For more on Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian, follow:
https://nellyben.com/
https://www.instagram.com/nellybenhayounstudios
https://linktr.ee/nellybenhayounstudios
https://www.karmanproject.org/news/in-the-karman-garden-armenian-pomegranate-from-dr-nelly-ben-hayoun-stepanian/
Newsletter HERE
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/nasas-spacex-crew-11/
Payload preparation at Cape Canaveral, Seeds (L), Dr. Lauren Sgro of SETI Institute holding the seeds payload ( R) Pictures by Ivan Castro Guatemala for Jaguar Space
