On Thursday, researchers from the University of Florida will send thousands of plant seeds, including strawberries grown in Tampa Bay, to space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. What we know: Courtesy: UF/IFAS, Tyler Jones Dr. Wagner Vendrame, an environmental horticulture professor at the University of Florida, is leading the experiment. The seeds will spend about a week aboard the International Space Station before returning to Earth for analysis.