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Bringing agriculture to space

 

NASA’s goal is to eventually have manned outposts on the moon and on Mars.  Greg McCauley, executive director of the Link Observatory says for that to happen – people will need access to fresh foods.  “We need to understand space based agricultural science,” he says.  “Because that is the critical part of on having an outpost on some other planet – we need to grow our own food.”

On August 10^th – astronauts aboard the International Space Station grew, harvested, and ate fresh vegetables for the first time.

He tells Brownfield the Vegetable Production System Program or VEGGIE is a plant growth facility on the International Space Station.  “In a very small space we were able to grow some red romaine lettuce under ‘normal’ circumstances – exposed to the cabin of the International Space Station and see how those edible plants were able to grow in microgravity,” he says.

McCauley says this was just the first step in space-based agriculture and says more crops will be planted and harvested as part of an ongoing learning process.

This is actually the second crop that was raised in space – after harvest of the first crop it was brought back so scientist could study it to ensure it was safe to eat.

On Wednesday Indiana State Fair attendees had the opportunity to learn more about the VEGGIE program when the Kennedy Space Center connected with The Glass Barn for a live chat with Trent Smith, VEGGIE program manager.

Greg McCauley, Executive Director of Link Observatory Space Science Institute