by Kevin Coupe
Florida Today reports that scientists at the Kennedy Space Center are experimenting with something called the Vegetable Production System, which would allow US astronauts to grow fresh produce in space.
Interestingly, it is not the first plants-in-space project to be developed; the story says that Russian cosmonauts already grow and eat fresh produce in the International Space Station (ISS). However, US astronauts still "rely on food from plastic pouches or tin cans, except for the occasional piece of fruit sent up in resupply ships. Strict NASA food safety regulations haven’t yet established guidelines for cleaning and eating fresh produce."
(Go figure. The Russians are ahead of us on this one. The shame…)
If this experiment works, the story, it will clear the way for growing and consuming fresh fruits and vegetables in space.
Though, if you ask me (and nobody did), the space scientists are wasting their money by going after the low-hanging fruit.
Instead, they ought to just go ahead an invent the food replicators so familiar to us from "Star Trek."
It'd be an Eye-Opener….
Florida Today reports that scientists at the Kennedy Space Center are experimenting with something called the Vegetable Production System, which would allow US astronauts to grow fresh produce in space.
Interestingly, it is not the first plants-in-space project to be developed; the story says that Russian cosmonauts already grow and eat fresh produce in the International Space Station (ISS). However, US astronauts still "rely on food from plastic pouches or tin cans, except for the occasional piece of fruit sent up in resupply ships. Strict NASA food safety regulations haven’t yet established guidelines for cleaning and eating fresh produce."
(Go figure. The Russians are ahead of us on this one. The shame…)
If this experiment works, the story, it will clear the way for growing and consuming fresh fruits and vegetables in space.
Though, if you ask me (and nobody did), the space scientists are wasting their money by going after the low-hanging fruit.
Instead, they ought to just go ahead an invent the food replicators so familiar to us from "Star Trek."
It'd be an Eye-Opener….
- KC's View:
