India for the very first time is flying biological experiments into space using a homegrown rocket. The next launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will see not one, but three biological experiments with living cells being rocketed into space. Keeping living things alive in the hostile near vacuum of space is a hugely challenging task.
India will fly living biological material from plants such as spinach, cowpea, and gut bacteria - three different experiments are being planned to be flown onboard the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-4 (POEM-4).