Mission MushVroom

The Australian Virtual Astronaut Challenge

Ignite your students’ passion for the final frontier with the Australian Virtual Astronaut Challenge. This free national STEM programme invites students in Years 5 to 12 to solve real-world problems facing NASA’s Artemis missions.

The 2026 “Home on the Moon” missions are officially open. Mission MushVroom is one of the marquee challenges this year, connecting to the private astronaut Fram2 mission that flew mushrooms in 2025.

What is “Mission MushVroom”?

Step into the role of an astronaut, meticulously monitoring this fungal life cycle from spore to fruit, and then taking it one step further: learning to clone the microscopic hyphae to guarantee perpetual life.

Phase	Action	Goal
1	Fruiting and Harvest (Weeks 1-3). Hydrate and monitor a certified substrate block.	Track and measure the entire mycelium lifecycle.
2	Tissue Culture (Weeks 4-5). Extract inner tissue from the first harvest and transfer cuttings to agar plates or liquid culture.	Achieve sterile transfer in a controlled environment.
3	Spawn Expansion (Weeks 6-8). Transfer the colonized mycelium to sterilized grains.	Expand the mycelial mass onto a nutrient-dense carrier (grain spawn).
4	Bulk Inoculation (Weeks 9-12). Substrate experimentation and second generation.	Complete the biological loop and fruit a second generation (clone).

Order the official Australian components for the mission here!

Showing all 10 resultsSorted by popularity

• Sale!

  Millet pre sterilized mushroom grains w/inj port and digital instructions

  $20.00 – $340.00Price range: $20.00 through $340.00 inc. GST Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
• Sale!

  Unicorn Mushroom Grow Bags for spawn and substrate

  $12.10 – $2,389.20Price range: $12.10 through $2,389.20 inc. GST Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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  Pre-poured MEA plates petri dish 90 mm

  $20.00 – $40.00Price range: $20.00 through $40.00 inc. GST Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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  Still Air Box (SAB)| Mushroom | Large | Pop up

  $75.00 inc. GST Add to cart
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  Scalpel handle #3 and blades | Mycology

  $7.00 – $20.00Price range: $7.00 through $20.00 inc. GST Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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  Spore to Agar Transfer Kit

  $65.00 inc. GST Add to cart
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  Liquid Culture Kit with Jar, Magnetic Stirrer and LC Mix

  $10.00 – $158.00Price range: $10.00 through $158.00 inc. GST Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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  Princess of Pearl Oyster | Pleurotus ostreatus | Mushroom Grow Kit- Spray and Grow

  $25.00 – $40.00Price range: $25.00 through $40.00 inc. GST Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
• Sale!

  Mushroom Grain spawn Bag Pre Sterilised: Choose Rye, Millet or Sorghum (Milo) w/inj port and air filter 500gms

  $20.00 – $380.00Price range: $20.00 through $380.00 inc. GST Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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  Pre-poured low nutrition (0.5%) malt extract agar plates petri dish 90 mm

  $20.00 – $40.00Price range: $20.00 through $40.00 inc. GST Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page