Will Astronauts Be Able to Grow Plants in Space?
The future looks bright from The International Space Station. People started to grow their own food in space. Back in 2015, astronauts on the space station grew red lettuce, which was the first thing ever to be produced in space. However, space food and the chance of growing edible crops and plants out there in space has been in works for some time now.
Growing food in space is what space agencies aim for
For many years, NASA has been interested in growing food and plants as a regenerative approach when it came to life supports. The plants can provide food and, of course, oxygen, and they can get rid of the carbon dioxide.
The experiment Veg-04B and the Vegetable Production System (Veggie) can help us in growing plants on the space station. It is a big step forward. The experiment is really testing ow light and fertilizers can impact microbial safety, the taste, and the nutritional value of a crop. Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir did the second of three harvests of vegetables.
The space station posted on Twitter on the 18th of November that the crew ate a portion of the leaves, and the rest were put in a freezer for analysis on Earth.
Why should they grow space plants?
The experiment aims to create sustainable food in space. If we are to take a look at their theories, the future humans to settle on Mars and Moon could grow at least some portions of their food themselves. They would get fresh foods with nutritional value so they would not have to rely on support from Earth entirely.
In time, packaged foods lose their quality and nutrition. The vitamins will degrade. Astronauts have access to food regularly because they receive packages through cargo missions, but astronauts tend to lose weight in space. This happens due to the menu, so they are trying to add fresh foods to the diet.
Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.
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