Gardening could be an essential part of astronaut self-care – The Counter

In addition to cucumbers, basil, mint, tomatoes, parsley, Bunchek is also growing varieties of peas, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, and new pepper and mustard green cultivars, all of which were selected either because of their size, shape, or other physical characteristics, or for their nutritional value.

So often in space, were constrained by power, volume, mass, things like that, said Wheeler. We try to look for shorter growing species, maybe dwarf varieties within those species. Growing sugarcane thats 12 feet tall just isnt a good match. They also want varieties that grow quickly and have high yields.

In addition to size and shape, theyre looking at the nutritional content of plants, and specifically for nutrients that can be difficult to deliver by other means, or that degrade over time, like Vitamin C and Vitamin B1.

Youre not going to get a lot of nutrition out of lettuce, Wheeler explains. But: Choose a colored variety, then you can get anthocyanin. Thats a pigment that has some antioxidant qualities.

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Gardening could be an essential part of astronaut self-care - The Counter