Space
Astronauts on the International Space Station have eaten their first harvest of a crop of lettuce from a plant growth system that tests hardware for growing vegetables and other plants in space. |
Astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) have enjoyed eating food they have grown themselves for the first time. This ability to grow crops for food and other uses, is essential to the development of long-term space habitation, and longer manned missions to Mars and beyond.
The first harvested space meal on the ISS was a simple salad of red romaine lettuce. The “Outredgous” variety was chosen because it is hardy, compact and nutritious. After ‘washing’ the lettuce with sanitized wipes, the astronauts first tried their salad plain, then added a little olive oil
and balsamic vinegar dressing.In space, astronauts use aeroponics to grow their garden. The plants are grown mostly in air, with just a very small amount of nutrient rich water. Sunlight is provided by a bank of red, blue and green LED lights. The plants actually gain enough energy to grow from the red and blue lights alone. But this makes the lettuce a weird purple colour. Green LED lights, which are less efficient, were added to make the lettuce more attractive to eat. (It’s a little known fact that sunlight peaks in green light).
The gardening system was developed and tested on the ground by Orbital Technologies Corporation (ORBITEC). The system was then flown up to the ISS on a SpaceX resupply mission in April 2014. It also included three sets of seed pillows: two containing lettuce seeds and one with zinnia flower seeds.
Dr. Gioia Massa is the NASA payload scientist for Veggie at Kennedy. Massa and others worked to get the flight unit developed and certified for use on the space station. The purple/pinkish hue surrounding the plants in Veggie is the result of a combination of the red and blue lights, which by design emit more light than the green LEDs. Green LEDS were added so the plants look like edible food rather than weird purple plants.
"Besides having the ability to grow and eat fresh food in space, there also may be a psychological benefit. The crew does get some fresh fruits or vegetables, such as carrots or apples, when a supply ship arrives at the space station. But the quantity is limited and must be consumed quickly."
Having something green and growing—a little piece of Earth—to take care of when living and working in an extreme and stressful environment could have tremendous value and impact.
"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. I think that plant systems will become important components of any long-duration exploration scenario," Massa said.
The system also may have implications for improving growth and biomass production on Earth, thus benefiting the average citizen. Massa said many of the lessons NASA is learning with Veggie could be applied in urban plant factories and other agriculture settings where light is provided by electrical light and water conservation is practiced.
"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," Massa said. "We have upcoming experiments that will look at the impacts of light quality on crop yield, nutrition and flavor, both on Earth and in space."
The NASA team hopes that Veggie and space gardening will become a valued feature of life aboard the space station and in the future on Mars.
"Besides having the ability to grow and eat fresh food in space, there also may be a psychological benefit. The crew does get some fresh fruits or vegetables, such as carrots or apples, when a supply ship arrives at the space station. But the quantity is limited and must be consumed quickly."
Having something green and growing—a little piece of Earth—to take care of when living and working in an extreme and stressful environment could have tremendous value and impact.
| Related articles |
"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." |
The system also may have implications for improving growth and biomass production on Earth, thus benefiting the average citizen. Massa said many of the lessons NASA is learning with Veggie could be applied in urban plant factories and other agriculture settings where light is provided by electrical light and water conservation is practiced.
"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," Massa said. "We have upcoming experiments that will look at the impacts of light quality on crop yield, nutrition and flavor, both on Earth and in space."
The NASA team hopes that Veggie and space gardening will become a valued feature of life aboard the space station and in the future on Mars.
It was one small bite for man, one giant leap for #NASAVEGGIE and our #JourneytoMars. #YearInSpacehttps://t.co/B7Gkfm1Vz0— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) August 10, 2015| By 33rd Square | Embed |
0 comments:
Post a Comment