XROOTS Offworld Dwarf Tomatoes Update

Red Dwarf Tomatoes were grown without soil using hydroponic and aeroponic nourishing techniques to demonstrate space agricultural methods to sustain crews on long term space flights farther away from Earth where resupply missions become impossible.

The experiment uses the space station’s Veggie facility to grow dwarf tomatoes, seen in its early growing stages on station in the bottom photo. The experiment examines the effect of light quality and fertilizer on fruit production, microbial food safety, nutritional value, and taste acceptability. Growing plants can also enhance the overall living experience for crew members.

View of red dwarf tomato plants growing in the Veggie plant growth facility aboard the International Space Station as part of the Pick-and-Eat Salad-Crop Productivity, Nutritional Value, and Acceptability to Supplement the ISS Food System (Veg-05) investigation. iss068e045298 (Feb. 5, 2023) – larger image

NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Josh Cassada uses a watering syringe to water tomato plants for the the Veg-05 experiment, the next step in efforts to address the need for a continuous fresh-food production system in space. The experiment uses the space station’s Veggie facility to grow dwarf tomatoes, seen in its early growing stages on station in the bottom photo. The experiment examines the effect of light quality and fertilizer on fruit production, microbial food safety, nutritional value, and taste acceptability. Growing plants can also enhance the overall living experience for crew members. NASA ID: iss068e045013 iss068e045013 (Feb. 2, 2023) – larger image

Astrobiology, Space Ag, space biology