Space-grown lettuce on the menu for astronauts
It's one small bite for man, one giant bite into space.
Astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) will sample the first crop of "Outredgeous" lettuce today as part of NASA’s Veg.01 experiment.
The study is looking at whether astronauts can grow their own food during extended missions and also whether green thumbs can take up recreational gardening.
The lettuce was grown for 33 days using rooting “pillows” and cultivated by astronauts as it grew.
Dr. Gioia Massa, a payload scientist at the Kennedy Space Center said it's hoped the project will advance NASA's mission to mars.
“The farther and longer humans go away from Earth, the greater the need to be able to grow plants for food, atmosphere recycling and psychological benefits,” he said.
“I think that plant systems will become important components of any long-duration exploration scenario.
“We hope to increase the amount and type of crop in the future, and this will allow us to learn more about growing plants in microgravity.”
Only half of the harvest will be eaten, with the remainder shipped back down to earth for scientific analysis.
News break - August 10
