Astronauts eat tacos made from the first ever 'Chilli cultivated on the International Space Station'



NASA is conducting research on growing chili peppers on the International Space Station (ISS), and astronauts actually ate the first ever 'tacos made with chili peppers grown on the ISS.' It has become clear.

Plant Habitat-04 | NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/content/plant-habitat-04

Astronaut makes zero-g tacos with 1st chile peppers grown in space. They look delicious. | Space
https://www.space.com/astronauts-eat-space-grown-chile-pepper-tacos

Astronauts eat first-ever chile peppers grown in space
https://thetakeout.com/nasa-hatch-chile-peppers-space-tacos-1847974321

On October 29, 2021, @ISS_Research, the official Twitter account for information on research and science taking place on the ISS, said, 'Today, (astronaut) Mark T. Vande Hey has done so far. I am honored to have harvested the first peppers on the ISS as part of 'Plant Habitat-04, ' which is one of the most difficult plant experiments on the ISS. '



'Plant Habitat-04' conducted by NASA on the ISS is an experiment in which chili peppers are cultivated in outer space. The peppers harvested this time have been cultivated in outer space for about four months, and ISS astronauts eat some of the harvested peppers and send the rest to Earth for analysis. Cultivation experiments on chili peppers take a long time from germination to harvest, which is one of the most difficult plant experiments ever conducted on the ISS.

For over 20 years, astronauts have been eating fresh and processed foods delivered on regular replenishment missions for space activities. However, in preparation for the manned lunar landing mission ' Artemis Program ' and manned Mars exploration, we are looking for ways to grow plants on the ISS to secure new food sources.

The reason for growing chili peppers is that they contain some important nutrients and especially a lot of vitamin C. In addition, it has a high possibility of growing well under microgravity and is durable, so it is suitable for cultivation in space. Another factor is that chili peppers add great versatility to the astronaut's diet, are easy to handle under microgravity, and do not require cooking or complex processing. In addition, chili peppers have a low amount of microorganisms and can be safely ingested.

NASA is testing more than 20 varieties around the world to find suitable peppers for growing in space. The cultivar group called 'Hatch' developed by New Mexico State University was used for the test. Among them, the improved variety 'Numex Espanola Improved ' grew particularly well in experiments conducted on the ground, so it was judged to be suitable for cultivation in a controlled environment such as the ISS.

A NASA researcher said, 'Because the peppers grown in Hatch Valley, New Mexico are hatches, the hatches grown in space are not exactly hatches.' The photo below shows a hatch cultivated using the plant cultivation equipment APH installed on the ISS.



APH has 48 devices called 'Science Carriers' that contain baked clay for root growth and specially formulated sustained release fertilizers, where disinfected pepper seeds are planted. .. By the way, the science carrier used in this plant experiment was shipped to the ISS on NASA and SpaceX freight supply missions. The APH is about the size of a large microwave oven and is equipped with over 180 sensors to monitor plant growth and the environment.

NASA astronaut Robert Shane Kimbrough has set up a science carrier in APH, added water, and started a pepper cultivation experiment on July 12, 2021. While controlling environmental conditions such as watering and lighting, we also monitor the state of the experiment from the earth. ISS astronauts work with ground researchers to regularly check the condition of peppers, remove plant debris on the APH, and thin out peppers. In the chili pepper cultivation experiment, it seems that the movement of pollen was promoted while sending a breeze using a fan to ensure that the flowers were pollinated. After that, the chili peppers are harvested safely, and the fruits are harvested at the end of October.

And on October 30, 2021, astronaut K. Megan McArthur updated his Twitter account and reported that he made and ate tacos using peppers harvested at Plant Habitat-04. ..



In addition, Plant Habitat-04 is scheduled to have a second harvest in November.

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in Science,   Junk Food, Posted by logu_ii