SpaceX Will Carry Cannabis to the ISS in Its 20th Trip

We all know the close relationship between Elon Musk and marijuana, from a podcast he joined in September 2018. 

Now, it seems like Elon Musk's favorite SpaceX mission is about to come. 

SEE ALSO: SPACEX STARTS CONSTRUCTION OF ITS THIRD ROCKETSHIP

A bioscience company, Front Range Biosciences, that grows highest performing hemp, coffee, and other high-value corps has become partners with the tech startup Space Cells and the University of Colorado, Boulder to send approximately 480 coffee and hemp plant cultures to the International Space Station (ISS) in March, with the SpaceX CRS-20 mission.

Of course, the reason for this isn't to make the astronauts in SpaceX CRS-20 mission high; it actually has a different purpose.

The cannabis culture will stay for 30 days in space in March 2020. After 30 days in space, they'll come back to Earth, and the researches at the Front Range Biosciences will examine the plant samples to see any alterations on the plant genes made by microgravity and space radiation exposure.

Dr. Jonathan Vaught, Co-Founder and CEO of Front Range Biosciences said, "This is one of the first times anyone is researching the effects of microgravity and spaceflight on hemp and coffee cell cultures. There is science to support the theory that plants in space experience mutations. This is an opportunity to see whether those mutations hold up once brought back to earth and if there are new commercial applications."  

This project also will indicate how plants manage space travel stress and how they react to it; this can create a whole new research area for the industry.