NASA announced Friday that it had grown the first chile Peppers in space. The International Space Station astronauts turned the fruit into tacos.
According to the U.S. space agency, the chile peppers were planted for the Plant Habitat-04 investigation.
‘The investigation involved microbial analysis to improve understanding of plant-microbe interactions in space and the crew’s assessment of flavor, texture, and nutrition of the first peppers grown in space,’ NASA said in a statement.
The peppers, which have been growing on the ISS since July, were from the ‘Española Improved’ chile, grown in the famed Hatch Valley of New Mexico.
NASA announced that it had successfully grown the first chile peppers from space.
The ISS Research Twitter account called this “one of our most challenging plant experiments to-date.”
It is a cross of the southern New Mexico’sandia chile’ and a landrace chilile, which can be found in the northern portion of the state.
Most Hatch chiles are eaten when they are green, but the ‘Espanola Improved’ is one of the few that is ‘regularly consumed in both the green and red stages of the pepper’s development,’ NASA said previously.
It was described by ISS Research Twitter account as “one of the most difficult plant experiments to date.”
NASA previously stated that peppers are more difficult to cultivate than other possible space crops, because they take longer for them to germinate, grow and produce fruit.
Megan McArthur is a NASA astronaut who has been onboard the ISS from April. She tweeted that she had picked the chile peppers after which both data and dinner were served
Megan McArthur is a NASA astronaut who has been aboard the ISS from April. She tweeted that, after picking the chile Peppers, both data, and dinner were served.
McArthur tweeted, “After the harvest, I got to taste red chile.”
“Then we filled in surveys (got the data!) Grinning face and smiling eyes
‘Finally, I made my best space tacos yet: fajita beef, rehydrated tomatoes & artichokes, and HATCH CHILE!’
NASA has already successfully grown Chinese cabbage, three types red Russian kale, and zinnia flowers in orbit around Earth.
Certain chile peppers offer advantages when it is time to look for plants that can grow easily in space. They can be pollinated easily and can survive in a carbon dioxide rich environment.
In 2019, NASA announced that the Española chile pepper would be the first fruit grown on the ISS in an effort to look for crops that astronauts could take to Mars.
NASA originally considered growing Hatch peppers instead on the International Space Station.
Unlike Hatch peppers, which grow in the desert, Española chile peppers typically grow at higher altitudes and have a shorter growth period, which makes them much more suitable for being harvested in space.
EXPLAINED – THE $100 BILLION INTERNATIONAL SPACES STATION SLITS 250 MILES ABOVE EARTH
The International Space Station (ISS) is a $100 billion (£80 billion) science and engineering laboratory that orbits 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.
Since November 2000, it has been permanently manned by rotating crews made up of astronauts and other cosmonauts.
Crews have mostly come from Russia and the US, but ESA and JAXA in Japan have also sent astronauts.
The International Space Station has been continuously occupied since more than 20 years. Numerous new modules and upgrades have been made to the systems and equipment.
Research conducted aboard the ISS often requires one or more of the unusual conditions present in low Earth orbit, such as low-gravity or oxygen.
ISS studies have investigated human research, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology.
The US space agency, NASA, spends about $3 billion (£2.4 billion) a year on the space station program, with the remaining funding coming from international partners, including Europe, Russia and Japan.
So far 244 individuals from 19 countries have visited the station, and among them eight private citizens who spent up to $50 million for their visit.
The future of the station is still up for debate beyond 2025. Some of the original structures will be deemed ‘end of life’.
Russia, a major partner of the station, plans its own orbital platform with AxiomSpace, a private company, around then. It will also send its own modules to the station for commercial use.
NASA, ESA (JAXA), JAXA, Canada Space Agency (CSA), and Russia are working together on a space station in orbit around Moon. Russia and China are also working together on a similar project. This would also include a base on Earth.