From Plants to Tacos

When astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) crave tacos, they can’t order in. Instead, groceries are launched to the ISS—220 miles above Earth. Most of the food NASA sends is freeze-dried. So to get fresh chile peppers to spice up their tacos, astronauts have to grow the plants in space.

The extreme gardening is paying off. “Best space tacos yet,” astronaut Megan McArthur tweeted on October 29, 2021, after harvesting chile peppers for her beef tacos.

Sometimes astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) want tacos. But unlike people on Earth, they can’t just order in. Groceries need to be launched to the ISS, 220 miles above Earth. And most of the food NASA sends is freeze-dried—not the most appetizing.

But now astronauts on the ISS have fresh chile peppers. That’s because they’ve been growing the plants in space! This past October, astronaut Megan McArthur harvested some of the peppers to spice up beef tacos. “Best space tacos yet,” she tweeted afterward.

NASA astronauts first started growing produce on the ISS in 2014 to prepare for trips to Mars. Mars is so far from Earth that fresh veggies would spoil on the way. Packaged space foods can last a long time, but their nutrients slowly break down. Space gardening provides astronauts with fresh, nutritious foods.

 The flavor of fresh food is important too. Astronauts have said that food doesn’t taste the same in space. It tastes bland. That’s why astronauts “are always asking for spicy foods,” says engineer Nicole Dufour. She runs the space gardening project at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Dufour’s team planted 48 pepper seeds in a container called a science carrier to send to space. It arrived on the ISS on July 12, 2021, and was placed in a controlled environment with LED lights and an automatic watering system.

Astronauts started growing produce on the ISS in 2014. The idea was to prepare for future trips to Mars. Mars is too far from Earth to send fresh veggies. They would spoil on the way. Packaged space foods can last a long time, but their nutrients slowly break down. Space gardening can provide fresh, healthy foods throughout the trip.

Fresh food is also more flavorful. Astronauts have said that food doesn’t taste the same in space. It tastes bland. “[They’re] always asking for spicy foods,” says engineer Nicole Dufour. She runs the space gardening project at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Dufour’s team sent the chile peppers to space. They planted 48 pepper seeds in a special container. It arrived on the ISS in July 2021. It was placed in a climate-controlled compartment. LED lights and an automatic watering system can be controlled from Earth.