One of NASA 's responsibilities that you may not have known about is growing plants in space, specifically on the International Space Station (ISS). The agency has been doing this for years as a science experiment, with the hope of eventually being able to grow a variety of plants that will provide food for astronauts. Now, NASA astronauts will attempt to grow tomatoes in space for the first time .
Recently, NASA announced that crew members on the ISS launched Veg-05 – the next phase of an ongoing gardening/agriculture experiment involving tomatoes, specifically a dwarf tomato variety .
See also: Meteorite in Somalia has two minerals that don't exist on Earth
“We’re testing tomatoes, looking at the effects of light spectrum on how well the crop grows, how tasty and nutritious the tomatoes are, and microbial activity in the fruit and plants,” said NASA Life Sciences Program Scientist Gioia Massa. “We’re also looking at the overall impact of growing, handling, and consuming the crops on health crew valuable data for future space exploration.”
The Vegetable Production System, or Veggie, is the space station's garden where astronauts will grow tomatoes. In the past, astronauts have used Veggie to grow some of their own food.
Despite being the size of a suitcase, astronauts have used Veggie to successfully grow lettuce, cabbage, peppers, and even beautiful flowers. With tomatoes soon to be added to that list, they may be able to make their own salads from start to finish.
See also: Mars: Did life finally begin on the red planet?
Tomatoes represent a major upgrade in growing plants in space, as they are a popular meal choice and are considered tasty and filling. Massa notes that they can also be eaten fresh.
It's worth noting that taste is not unimportant to NASA when it comes to choosing food for its astronauts. Therefore, in the experiment with tomatoes in space, its taste will also be evaluated. These people are on the space station for months and need to be able to eat something good at least.
Veggie experiments are key to developing space agriculture, although it will be some time before there are complete farms on Mars or the Moon.
See also: NASA Artemis: The first images of the moon from Orion
Having astronauts able to grow their own food will allow them to be more self-sufficient, which is very important, as NASA plans to send humans to the Moon by 2024 and possibly establish a facility there by the end of the decade.
Growing fresh food during future missions farther from Earth could morale crew and reduce reliance on cargo missions to space, NASA says.
Therefore, the availability of fresh vegetables and food to astronauts during space missions is of great importance. And as we continue to explore solar system and beyond, finding new ways to grow vegetables (tomatoes, etc.) in space will be crucial to the success of future missions.
Source: futurism.com
