Introduction
International space station for first time it has started growing chili peppers in outer space which will be getting spice easily and it is a great initiative by NASA to add a little more flavour to astronauts’ diets while travelling in Outer Space. Chili Peppers are chosen as they are rich in Vitamin C which boosts immunity and they don’t require extensive processing also they are spicy. Astronauts needs these kinds of foods because they need get back their sense of smell as they are staying in microgravity for longer period of time.
Overview
Previously in 2015, astronauts raised zinnias in International Space Station it took longer time to grow like chili peppers. As in upcoming future NASA needs to successfully send people to Mars and bring them back to Earth, if they travel with Nutritious food they also require better tasting food as well. Two weeks ago NASA announced that very first time Astronauts are growing Red and Green Chili Peppers at International Space Station. Researchers nearly took 2 years to select a variety around the world with 24 varieties being selected and finally The NuMex ‘Española Improved’ pepper, a hybrid Hatch pepper was selected for growing in Outer Space.
NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough who travelled to the ISS in April, started the experiment with dubbed Plant Habitat-04 (PH-04). Researchers from Kennedy Space Center planted 48 seeds in a device called a science carrier which has a porous clay substrate which contains soil microorganisms and special controlled fertiliser releaser is used which releases at precise time and device delivers water, nutrients and oxygen at right time. The device slots are placed in Advanced Plant Habitat which utilizes LED lights and Advanced Plant Habitat is the biggest plant growth facility on the space station and it has 180 sensors that controls monitoring of plant growth and the environment. In this chamber experiments can be controlled from Kennedy Space Station which helps astronauts to focus on other Works instead of spending time in monitoring growth of plant.
This chili peppers needs about four months for growing and later they can be harvested and eaten. This becomes mark that astronauts successfully grew Chili from seeds to maturity. If data suggest that peppers are safe then crew can consume some of them and send the rest back to Earth for further examination
Conclusion
Researchers and Scientists are in hope that crop will help to add an extra diet for astronauts in upcoming future missions which can provide much needed Vitamin C which boosts immunity of people and it also provides other nutrients. As mentioned earlier after staying long time in microgravity, astronauts can lose some of their sense of taste and smell so this spice food can bring back sense of smell and taste also. Growing colourful vegetables in space can have long-term benefits for physical and psychological health. After maturity researchers are ready to collect crew feedback on the peppers’ flavour and texture, as well as Scoville measurement a measurement which indicates Capsaicin and number of times capsaicin needs to be diluted by sugar-water. If Scoville value is high then Capsaicin rate will be higher.
Source: CBS News, USA Today, Independent UK