13 Aug One small bite for man, one giant leaf for mankind: NASA astronauts eat space-grown food

On Monday August 10 on the International Space Station, a batch of romaine lettuce became the first food grown and consumed in space. On a gustatory adventure never attempted by humanity, the verdict from astronaut Scott Kelly went: “Tastes good. Kinda like arugula.” It was a strangely appropriate comment, given that arugula is also known as rocket.

The crew members of Expedition 44 harvested space-grown red romaine lettuce heads on Monday from NASA’s experimental plant growth system called Veg-01, a microgravity environment in which plants grow from seed “pillows” under primarily red and blue LED lights.

They first cleaned them with sanitizing wipes, then tried them raw, then dressed the roughage with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and Italian balsamic vinegar.

Every bit of food consumed on the International Space Station has always been delivered via costly manned and robotic missions. That will start changing, as the ISS crew have harvested their first edible crop of lettuce grown aboard the station.

Past plants were only for research purposes, but they got to eat some of it this time. This could be a big step toward a more sustainable future for humans in space. This harvest celebration is part of NASA’s Veg-01 experiment, which aims to test cultivation methods that could be used to help future astronauts survive long periods away from Earth.

The Veg-01 program was kicked off a little over a year ago when the seeds that would eventually grow into today’s snack were sent up to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Dragon vessel. The seeds are packaged in small “pillows” that ensure the seeds can germinate in microgravity. The lettuce plants were successfully grown on the ground using this system before being sent up, but no one knew for sure if the plants would thrive and be safe to eat in space.

Some fresh foods are already on the menu at the International Space Station, but a NASA scientist says crew members must wait for shipments of foods like apples and carrots, and then consume them quickly. The ability to grow sustainable plants in space opens up a world of possibilities for prolonged space exploration, both in terms of improved nutrition and beyond.

Not only do fresh vegetables contain vital vitamins and nutrients, but NASA says there are likely psychological benefits from caring for a small piece of green, which will be increasingly important as space voyages become longer.

This idea is central to NASA’s Journey to Mars project, which aims to send humans to Mars in the 2030s.