World
Rooibos in space: South African seeds sent to the ISS in October 2026
The South African Rooibos Council (SARC) announced on July 16, 2026, that it will send rooibos seeds to the International Space Station (ISS), marking the first space mission of its kind for Africa. The mission is scheduled for October 2026, with the seeds expected to return to Earth in December 2026 or January 2027. According to SARC Director Dawie de Villiers, these will be the first seeds of an indigenous South African species—and the first seeds from the African continent—to reach space. The experiment aims to study their adaptation to microgravity and space radiation.