An out of this world harvest in a small garden in space

A team of researchers on the ground at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center supports astronauts as they harvest crops grown in space aboard the International Space Station in the Veggie growth chamber. The experiment examines Mizuna mustard as a salad green to determine productivity, nutritional value and suitability of using fresh crops to supplement astronauts’ diets. The ability to grow a supplemental food crop is a solution to the challenge of long-duration missions into deep space, and the International Space Station is the only platform for long-duration research in microgravity where astronauts are solving these challenges. The packaged diet currently used by crews in low-Earth orbit aboard the International Space Station works well and has supported an uninterrupted human presence in space since Nov. 2, 2000; however, it relies on resupply missions. During a two- or three-year mission to Mars, the vitamins and quality of packaged food would degrade over time. Supplementation with fresh, edible crops will provide necessary nutrients while also enhancing dietary variety. To learn more about the International Space Station visit https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html To learn more about NASA’s Moon to Mars efforts please visit https://www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars