Today, astronauts on the International Space Station sampled space-grown lettuce:
The red lettuce eaten Monday – accompanied by a dash of vinaigrette dressing – was grown in a specialized canister aboard the International Space Station during recent weeks and had sprouted from seeds that were glued into place on Earth. Astronauts placed the seeds and their pouches in a system that provided the water and light needed to make the plants grow. Half of the landmark crop was eaten while the other half will be returned to researchers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for closer study.
While at NASA this summer, I got an up-close look at a duplicate of the rig used to grow these space veggies. While this may not seem like the most exciting science experiment, growing food in space will be critical on manned missions to Mars.