Cherries get blasted into outer space

Cherry trees will soon enjoy another honour - their seeds being blasted into outer space.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has approved a project to send the seeds of cherry trees to the Japanese laboratory at the International Space Station, which is orbiting above Earth.

Japan Manned Space Systems Corp, a Tokyo private-sector consortium of 55 companies, organised the cherry seeds' six-month stay in space in part to see whether or how microgravity would affect them.

"We also want the seeds to travel in space on our behalf as few ordinary people cango now," spokeswoman Yuko Otake said.