ISS Astronauts Grew Space Lettuce, And Then Ate It

Astronauts aboard the global Space Station are officially the first humans in history to ever eat space-grown lettuce.

“There is evidence that supports fresh foods, such as tomatoes, blueberries and red lettuce are a good source of antioxidants”, Dr. Ray Wheeler, a scientist at the Kennedy Space Center, said in a statement. After ground-based tests concluded it was safe, this time the astronauts were allowed to tuck in.

NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Scott Kelly, along with Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui were all laughs while they toasted their three pieces of lettuce together with a quick “cheers” before they took their first bites. Named Veggie, the ISS’ plant growth program begins with rooting “pillows”, small bundles that contain the plant seeds.

NASA also noted that growing vegetables can be a useful hobby for astronauts who must endure long missions in space, especially now that a possible Mars expedition is close at hand, reported the Mirror. They will eat half of the space bounty on Tuesday, setting aside the other half to be packaged and frozen on the station until it can be returned to Earth for scientific analysis.

The second Veg-01 plant pillows were activated by Kelly on July 8 and grew again for 33 days before being harvested. Instead, it underwent-and passed-food safety tests back on Earth.

The orbiting lab has hosted the space station’s “Veg-01” experiments in growing vegetables in space since May 2014, with the first seeds were activated in the mini greenhouse known as “Veggie”.

The availability of fresh food in space can also have a positive psychological impact on astronauts and could also provide some protection against cosmic radiation, he added.

“The crew does get some fresh fruits or vegetables, such as carrots or apples, when a supply ship arrives at the space station”, Dr Massa said.

“Future spaceflight missions could involve four to six crew members living in a confined space for an extended period of time, with limited communication”, Ms Whitmire said.

But one thing that we need to master if we are going to actually send humans into deep space is how to eat nutritious food along the way.