The Potato was the First Food Grown in the Outer Space (2024)

FAQs

Can you grow potatoes in outer space? ›

An experiment was conducted in 1995 on NASA_s Space Shuttle using excised potato leaves to study tuber formation at axillary buds during spaceflight. The results showed that tubers formed equally well in space as in the ground controls, indicating that reduced gravity should not be an impediment to tuberisation.

The Origin of Potatoes

The Inca Indians in Peru were the first to cultivate potatoes around 8,000 BC to 5,000 B.C. Potato History: The ancient civilizations of the Incas used the time it took to cook a potato as a measurement of time.

In the early 90s, an experiment conducted by NASA together with the University of Wisconsin led to growing potatoes in space. In 1995, a collaboration between NASA and the University of Wisconsin produced an experiment to grow potatoes in space conducted on board the Columbia space shuttle.

When the Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarin (pictured) became the first human in space, he took along and ate the first meal in space: two servings of pureed meat and one of chocolate sauce – all in the yummy form of paste he squeezed from tubes, just like toothpaste!

Plant each piece of potato (cut side down, with the eyes pointing up) every 12-15 inches, with the rows spaced 3 feet apart. If your space is limited or if you would like to grow only baby potatoes, you can decrease the spacing between plants. To begin with only fill the trench in with 4 inches of soil.

China and India are the main producers of potatoes, with the United States ranked fourth among the leading potato producers worldwide.

Food historian Lois Ellen Frank calls potatoes, tomatoes, corn, beans, squash, chili, cacao, and vanilla the "magic eight" ingredients that were found and used only in the Americas before 1492 and were taken via the Columbian Exchange back to the Old World, dramatically transforming the cuisine there.

Plants tested in Veggie before going into space included lettuce, Swiss chard, radishes, Chinese cabbage and peas. Red Romaine lettuce was grown in space on Expedition 40 which were harvested when mature, frozen and tested back on Earth.

What is a space potato? ›

NASA has captured a stunning new photo of a "space potato" — but it is actually Phobos, the Martian moon that is locked on a slow collision course with the Red Planet.

While most of the native potatoes died shortly after their roots entered the 'Martian' soil, a few of them and most of the LTVR clones managed to grow and produce potatoes.

Thale cress was the first plant to be grown in space in 1982, while Russian cosmonauts have been eating some space-grown plants since the early 2000s and NASA astronauts ate their first space crop in 2015.

Salt and Pepper

Salt, pepper and other granular spices and seasonings can make for a huge mess in microgravity. NASA has, instead, developed liquid alternatives for astronauts to use.

The low-pressure environment would likely cause any liquid in the food to boil and evaporate away. This would produce a cooling effect, which is what would freeze the food. Due to the lack of an atmosphere and the fact that space is generally considered to be cold, it is difficult to transfer heat away from an object.

First, dig a trench that is 6-8 inches deep. Lay your seed potatoes in the trench with the sprouts pointing up, 12-15 inches apart. Top the trench with lots of mulch to keep the beds moist. To grow your own potatoes in a pot, fill a large, deep pot with organic soil.

The potato seeds were placed inside the ISS' computer-controlled growth chambers. This facility has unique lighting technology, high-efficiency temperature, humidity controls, and automation technology. Therefore, it can produce minitubers, even without the labor-intensive handling method.

When Airlock 1 breached, causing a gaping hole in The Hab, the potatoes were freeze dried and the bacteria in the soil assumed dead. Because of this Mark was unable to grow any more potatoes and could only eat the ones he still had with him.