NASA celebrates the first harvest of chili peppers in space with some hot tacos
Green Chiles.
Photo: Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
For six months, astronauts from the Crew-2 mission, funded by SpaceX , have contributed with several investigations in the International Space Station , among which one harvest of chili peppers that they successfully achieved.
The four astronauts of the mission, Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide and Thomas Pesquet , have carried out various tasks before his return to Earth aboard the Crew Dragon capsule.
Friday Feasting! After the harvest, we got to taste red and green chile. Then we filled out surveys (got to have the data! 😁). Finally, I made my best space tacos yet: fajita beef, rehydrated tomatoes & artichokes, and HATCH CHILE! https://t.co/pzvS5A6z5u pic.twitter.com/fJ8yLZuhZS
The one that has transcended this time has to do with the first sowing of chili peppers, in the test that has been called “Plant Habitat 04” or PH- 04 , which “was in charge of all the crew members.”
Care was taken for four months of Hatch peppers , before harvesting. And when the necessary time finally passed, you had to do the taste test. Nowhere better to put a good chili than inside a tortilla, forming the traditional tacos.
The others will be sent to Earth to be analyzed. “This plant experiment will be one of the most complex to date on the station due to the long germination and growth times. The study will add to NASA’s knowledge of food crops for long-duration space missions, ”the agency said.
