Astronauts aboard the International Space Station recently became the first people to eat food grown extraterrestrially.
Veggie, the ISS’ LED-powered greenhouse, yielded a small crop of red lettuce: half will be sent to Earth for analysis, and the other half became humanity’s first space salad. Received approvingly by the ISS astronauts, the lettuce was chosen by NASA for its taste, ease of cultivation, and low natural microbial levels. Food cultivation will be important for a trip to Mars, and NASA wants to grow more types of food, including small cabbage, tomatoes, and eventually even grains.
