Astronauts on the International Space Station have been doing a bit of experimental gardening. On Monday, they sampled their crop, red romaine lettuce, for the first time.
The space diners gave it high ratings, with one noting it tasted like arugula. Half the lettuce will be returned to Earth for further study as part of the experiment designed to study the function and performance of the Veggie plant growth system.
Growing food in space is considered integral to long-term space missions. According to NASA, Veggie “is a deployable plant growth unit capable of producing salad-type crops to provide the crew with a palatable, nutritious, and safe source of fresh food and a tool to support relaxation and recreation.”
Veggie operates via “pillows” which contain seeds. Once the pillows are activated, they need to be watered and cared for just like any other plants. The system gets around lack of sunlight by using LEDs. Only blue and red lights are necessary, but a green light was added in order to appeal to the aesthetic taste of humans. Otherwise the plants would grow purple and might look inedible.
Monday’s crop isn’t the first lettuce to be grown in space; the first crop was sent back to Earth in its entirety where it was tested and deemed safe to eat.
