Thomas Pesquet's slime mold on the ISS: what "Raise your blob" really showed
In 2021, four blob sclerotia joined the International Space Station via the Cygnus cargo ship, and Thomas Pesquet woke them up on September 2nd. The exact chronology of the "Raise Your Blob" project, and what it really shows.
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In 2021, four blob sclerotia joined the International Space Station, and Thomas Pesquet woke them up live during his Alpha mission. On the ground, nearly 2,000 French classrooms were performing the same experiment at the same time. Here is what really happened—and what you shouldn't claim it proves.
The exact timeline
It is often said that Pesquet "took blobs in his luggage." That is false, and the real story is more interesting.
- April 23, 2021: Thomas Pesquet takes off for the Alpha mission (Crew-2). Without any blobs.
- August 12, 2021: The sclerotia arrive on board via the Cygnus NG-16 resupply cargo ship.
- September 2, 2021: Pesquet wakes up the blobs in orbit.
Four. Not eight, not a dozen—four sclerotia, all from the same parent cell referenced as LU352, chosen for its robustness and short waking time.
Source: CNES, "#ÉlèveTonBlob: the odyssey of the space blobs."
The protocol
On board the ISS
Two conditions were tested on the four containers: an "exploration" protocol (the blob is provided with oat flakes) and a "fasting" protocol (no food). Monitoring was carried out via automated time-lapse photography over one week, without crew intervention.
On the ground, in schools
Approximately 4,500 institutions applied, and ~2,000 were selected to receive sclerotia for free and repeat the experiment in parallel, using the same protocol.
What was observed—and the necessary caveats
The blobs woke up normally
This is the main result, and it was not a foregone conclusion: microgravity prevented neither the emergence from dormancy nor exploration.
3D deployment
The images show blobs sometimes deploying in pillars, off the plane of the agar—a behavior not observed on the ground, where gravity keeps them pressed against their support. An interesting observation, to be confirmed on a real sample.
"An organism without a brain does not need gravity to explore its environment."
Why this experiment left a mark
- Massive pedagogical engagement—nearly 2,000 classrooms, the same week, following the same protocol
- A strong cultural image—associating an astronaut with a single-celled organism brought the blob into mainstream culture
- Participatory science—the students didn't watch an experiment, they performed it
The legacy
- The blob has been incorporated into educational practices for primary school (Cycle 3)
- A lasting wave of general public curiosity for myxomycetes
- The appearance of educational kits accessible to families—including ours
Repeat the experiment at home
The Major Tom strain we offer carries the same LU352 reference as the one sent into orbit. The "exploration" protocol can be replicated with a simple Petri dish and a few oat flakes.
At home, it's just like on the ISS: your sclerotia arrive dehydrated, placed on Ø 90 mm filter papers, ready to be woken up whenever you decide—even months later.
