Video: NASA Harvests Another Round of Veggies
NASA astronaut Steve Swanson, Expedition 40 commander, harvests a crop of red romaine lettuce plants from the Veg-01 experiment. NASA
It's time to break out the salad dressing.
It's harvest season again aboard the International Space Station. The Vegetable Production System, a piece of deployable hardware that can grow certain crops in harsh conditions, has provided some more red romaine lettuce for the astronauts aboard the ISS.
The experiment has many benefits. The astronauts get access to fresh food and the nutrients they provide, as well as a psychological boost from seeing greenery in the sterile environment of the space station. It also helps prepare the agency for future long-duration missions.
"It's really a scientific unit, it's meant to study plants at their fundamental biology level, so we can ensure that plants are going to be a reliable resource for future missions," said Robert Richter of Orbitec, the company that developed the veggie hardware.
To learn more, check out the video below from NASA: