NASA grows space peppers on the ISS – and astronauts will taste them

I’ve always been a little wary of going into space, living in orbit, and having to be away from the things I love, like New Mexico green peppers. But I can go now. There are officially hot peppers growing on the International Space Station, NASA said in a statement on Tuesday.

As a PSA, we spell “chili” with an “e” here in New Mexico. ISS plants grow from seeds of NuMex “Española Improved”, a hybrid Hatch pepper. Hatch refers to a town in southern New Mexico and an area of ​​the state known for its chili peppers.

This week, NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough added water to the Plant Habitat-04 (PH-04) experiment to launch the seeds into orbit after they arrived on a SpaceX freighter in June.

Peppers are not an instant gratification plant. It will take about four months to see them until harvest. “This is one of the most complex experiments on plants to date due to the long germination and growth times,” said Matt Romeyn, principal investigator of PH-04.

Here on Earth, we eat Hatch peppers in different ways. When harvested green, we roast them over a fire, remove the skin and use them chopped or in sauces or recipes. Leave them on the plant and they turn red. We usually let the reds dry and then sprinkle them for sauces and flavors.

There is no chili roaster on the ISS, but that won’t prevent peppers from going through the hatch. “The plan is for the crew to eat some of the peppers and return the rest to Earth for analysis, as long as all data indicates they are safe for the crew,” NASA said.

The astronauts will comment on the texture and flavor while the researchers will also measure how hot the chili peppers grown in space are compared to a batch grown on Earth.

NASA is looking for ways to supplement astronauts’ diets with fresh foods grown in space. Astronauts have already appreciated microgravity salad of lettuce grown on the station.

It’s not just nutrition that is important to space dwellers. “We are finding that growing plants and vegetables with colors and smells helps improve the well-being of astronauts,” said Romeyn.

In New Mexico, we are already listening to the emotional and psychological benefits of consuming chili peppers. We can now export our official status question to the ISS: “Red or Green?” It’s good to say “both”.

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