NASA astronauts harvest the first pepper International Space Station (ISS) October 29 marks an important milestone in the process by which humans send a new form of life into space.

Sprinkle with chilli seeds Space Station ISS Planted by NASA astronaut Shane Kimbro during the SpaceX redistribution mission in June.

“In the end, I made my best space tacos: beef fagita, artichokes with rehydrated tomatoes and hatch peppers,” astronaut Megan McArthur wrote on Twitter.

During their stay at the International Space Station, the astronauts were offered a variety of frozen and pre-prepared meals. However, learning how to grow new foods millions of kilometers away from Earth is the key to long-term space missions.

“The challenge is to be able to feed crews in low-Earth orbit and then keep explorers on future missions beyond Earth’s low orbit, including the Sun. Finally, as part of the Artemis program Tuesday“- Fox News quotes Matt Romain, lead investigator on NASA’s Habitat-04 experiment.

According to Romain, growing plants such as chili not only provides physical health benefits, but also mental health benefits to astronauts.

N. The NASA astronaut An Advanced Plant Grows Hatch Seeds in Habitat – A Growth Chamber with over 180 sensors and LEDs controlled by a crew at the Kennedy Space Center.

A similar growth chamber, called the Vegetable Production System, has been growing vegetables, including spinach, cabbage, kale, and cinnamon, for about 6 years.

A team at the Kennedy Space Center developed a control group of peppers in almost identical conditions on Earth to see if microgravity and other factors in the universe influenced growth. Hatch or not.

“The burning of chillies is determined by the conditions of the growing environment. The combination of microgravity, light quality, root zone temperature and humidity affects the taste. So, it’s very interesting to see how fruits grow, ripen and taste, “- PH-04 Project Scientist Team Leader. NASA Lachel Spencer.