Hello readers, My name is Husaan Iqbal from the “Robots in Space” blog. I’m guest blogging on Henry Tam’s blog about growing vegetables in Space. Enjoy.
Vegetable Production System uses ‘Rooting Pillows’ to grow plants
Astronauts will soon have green thumbs in Space when they start growing their own veggies. With the help of a cargo mission from SpaceX, NASA will be sending a Vegetable Production System to the International Space Station in hopes to brighten things up in the kitchen. Two and half tons of veggie cargo will be sent into orbit which will include a growing chamber that uses red, blue, and green LEDs to grow plants. Besides getting culinary benefits from the vegetables, the plants will also recycle water and air. The chamber has an embedded environment control system to provide the ideal temperature and atmosphere to grow vegetables in space. Seeds will be placed in rooting pillows where they will germinate by the help of water and nutrients, which will help researchers study how plants grow in weightless conditions. Space crews have reported having plants around gave a comforting feeling and made them feel less out of touch with Earth. Link
