Astronauts grow edible, tasty lettuce in space

13 Mar 2020

Astronauts grow edible, tasty lettuce in space

Astronauts grow edible, tasty lettuce in spaceDo you like to eat lettuce? Lettuce is a type of leaf vegetable which can be eaten raw in salads, etc.

Astronauts have grown lettuce in the International Space Station (ISS) and have found that it is edible and tasty!

Astronauts first grew romaine lettuce in the International Space Station (ISS) in 2014, which was frozen and sent back to Earth for analysis. Scientists found that it was safe.
 	Since then, astronauts have been enjoying fresh salads in space.

How did this experiment come about?

Since fresh vegetables cannot be sent to space, astronauts decided to experiment and see if some veggies can be grown in space.
 	The experiment was a success and since then, they have grown different types of green leafy vegetables.
 	Studies on romaine lettuce grown on the ISS show that it is also free of disease-causing microbes and is as nutritious as lettuce grown on Earth.

Where do veggies grow on the ISS?

They grow them in the "Veggie" -  which is short for Vegetable Production Systems, the ISS' space garden.
 	Veggie is the size of a small suitcase and can hold about 6 plants.

As human beings plan further missions into space, it is important to find ways to produce food during the journey itself. So, astronauts will continue to try and grow more types of vegetables.

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Do you like to eat lettuce? Lettuce is a type of leaf vegetable which can be eaten raw in salads, etc. Astronauts have grown lettuce […]

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