Salad in space. The astronauts grow plants on the ISS and why it matters

August 10 NASA has conducted a live broadcast from the ISS. The members of the 44th crew of the International Space Station in real time eating lettuce grown on the ISS itself. We understand is, why it is important and that it will give in the future.

plant growth experiment was called Veg-01, and was made possible by Veggie system. The goal - to study how plants behave in orbit.

Veggie system was delivered to the ISS in the framework of the SpaceX mission in April 2014. At that time, the age of the seed was already 15 months. The Veggie they are shipped on a special platform and highlights in red, blue and green lights.

Red and blue lights are necessary to ensure the quality of plant growth and at the same time consume the least amount of energy. Green only needed for visual perception (we are used to the green plants), but, in fact, the increase will have no effect.

This is the second plant growth experiments on the ISS. The first also went well, but after 33 days the sprouts obtained was sent to Florida to conduct research. Veg-01 of the draft lettuce also grew for 33 days before their astronauts collected.

Astronauts themselves reacted to the Veggie project with warmth. In one of interview Canadian Chris Hadfield said that the ISS is never boring: there is always a task to be performed. But they all boil down to an analysis of readings and operating the equipment. To care for the plants liking all also because it is the diversity of life on the station.

Why is it important

The first thought that came to mind probably is correct. The importance of growing food in space is difficult to overestimate. Now astronauts get food from the earth, but in the future, when a lengthy space missions will mean flights to other planets, this method will become more costly.

In 2030, NASA is preparing to send astronauts to Mars group. By this time, you need to create a stable system of food production, because the flight in one direction will take 150 to 300 days - it depends on the position of Mars.

According to the NASAUntil the project can hardly be called practical. Installation takes up too much space and will not be able to provide the team enough food. But authorities have another 15 years to perfect the process. Most likely, the astronauts to provide food to 100% still fail. And grown plants in space will be used as a supplement to the basic diet.

Following astronauts will grow tomatoes and cabbage. Then - peppers, radishes, greens, particularly green onions. No difference between plants grown in space and on Earth, no. According to the ISS crew, at the salad just amazing taste. Still would.