In 1984, NASA sent 12.5 million tomato seeds into orbit for nearly six years. After their return, 132,000 experiment kits were distributed across every US state and 30 countries. Students planted space-exposed seeds beside Earth-stored control seeds. The experiment compared germination and growth. Results showed 73.8% germination for space seeds against 70.3% for control seeds, giving NASA data on seeds and space exposure.