The green peppers were then used for tacos
NASA has announced that astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have successfully grown green peppers in space.
The US space agency said that the chile peppers were grown for the Plant Habitat-04 investigation.
In a statement, NASA said: “During the week, crew members got their first taste of chile peppers grown 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.”
The peppers had been growing since July and were from the ‘Española Improved’ chile.
The ISS Research Twitter account described it as “one of the most challenging plant experiments to date.”
Happy pepper picking day aboard the @Space_Station!🌶️Today @Astro_Sabot gets the honor of harvesting the station’s first crop of chile peppers as a part of the Plant Habitat-04 study, one of the most challenging station plant experiments to date. https://t.co/f1LHkidhFn pic.twitter.com/dim8uHNZbs
— ISS Research (@ISS_Research) October 29, 2021
The ‘Española Improved’ chile is a cross between the southern New Mexico ‘sandia’ chile and a landrace chile and it looks like the produce was enjoyed by all those on board the ISS. Astronaut Megan McArthur, who has been on the station since April, tweeted: “After the harvest, we got to taste red and green chile.
“Then we filled out surveys (got to have the data! ‘Grinning face with smiling eyes’ emoji).
“Finally, I made my best space tacos yet: fajita beef, rehydrated tomatoes & artichokes, and HATCH CHILE!”
Friday Feasting! After the harvest, we got to taste red and green chile. Then we filled out surveys (got to have the data! 😁). Finally, I made my best space tacos yet: fajita beef, rehydrated tomatoes & artichokes, and HATCH CHILE! https://t.co/pzvS5A6z5u pic.twitter.com/fJ8yLZuhZS
— Megan McArthur (@Astro_Megan) October 29, 2021
This isn’t the first vegetation that has been grown in space either.
According to the Mail Online, NASA has already grown Chinese cabbage, three types of lettuce, red Russian kale and zinnia flowers.
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