Sristi Raj Rai, Amity University Kolkata
With the advancement in Science and Technologies, our astronauts are preparing themselves for future space missions to explore their neighborhood. In order to traverse a long stretch of distance to reach other planets like Mars, space-traveling time will surely increase, driving the crew farther away from Earth. Inturn increasing the pressure on food required to keep their body functioning as well as the spacecraft.
You must have heard astronauts complaining about the tasteless, limited, and freeze-dried space food they had to consume in earlier times. But with the evolved food packaging, the ‘tubes’ got replaced by ‘spoon bowl’, and then came the conventional dinner arena with an unusual pair of scissors to cut open the sealed plastic bags. As time passed by, food technology and preservation techniques were able to impart taste to the dishes, and the menu extensively increased for the astronauts. Moreover, they could even design their menu verified by the dietician and consume a balanced supply of nutrients by simply rehydrating it with water and heating it in the oven to the set temperature.
Now, pause for a moment to think what if in between a long-duration space mission the food supply runs out or the units where the supplies are gets compromised. These space travelers cannot starve to death while waiting for a space shuttle with food supplies sent from home. The only way out is growing their food, which the scientists aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have achieved earlier this month (11th November 2020).
Colorful small radish an easy to grow dietary, little spicy, crunchy salad crop, has successfully been growing for 27 days inside the plant growth chamber on Advanced Plant Habitat-02 (PH-02) built-in with cameras to monitor them, LEDs, and 180 sensors to maintain the suitable environment for growth in the microgravity setting. As reported by NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, the plant grows on porous clay material with little assistance from the crew members in controlled temperature and humidity conditions. A sophisticated system delivers needed fertilizers containing nutrients, water, and oxygen to the roots. The crew in the orbiting laboratory is ready to harvest them later this month. It is a milepost set for other possible crops that can be grown and harvested in the upcoming space missions.
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SOURCE – Space Life Science Lab, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida.NASA. 2020. Astronauts Grow Radishes In Second Advanced Plant Habitat Experiment. [online] Available at: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/astronauts-grow-radishes-in-second-advanced-plant-habitat-experiment
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