NASA reveals plans to grow peppers on space station

Growing plants or vegetables in space is no easy task. However, NASA is adamant to grow the first ever fruit on International Space Station.

Crew members aboard the ISS have grown things in microgravity before including lettuce and other vegetables, but growing a fruit would be a first. NASA announced that it plans to grow Española pepper, also known as capsicum annuum, there by November this year.

The particular chili is comparatively easy to grow as it grows at high altitudes, does not require a lot of time to grow, and easy to pollinate. “We were also looking for varieties that don’t grow too tall, and yet are very productive in the controlled environments that we would be using in space,” NASA plant physiologist Ray Wheeler told the Rio Grande Sun.

The main objective for growing these is to provide space travelers with nutrition and different kinds of foods on longer trips for far away destinations in future such as Mars. “We need to grow enough to supplement diet,” Jacob Torres, scientist at NASA, told CNN. “Just like here on Earth, we can’t live on the same thing.”

As per Futurism, freshly grown foods such as chili peppers can be very precious and a good source of nutrients and vitamins. “The astronauts have often expressed a desire for more spicy and flavorful foods, and so having a bit of hot flavor also seemed to be a good thing. Plus, many peppers are very high in vitamin C, which is important for space diets,” said Wheeler.