A Salad Bar in Space?
What may have been a joke years ago just might end up becoming a reality. A group of scientists from the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in College Station joined forces with NASA for a “Salad Bowl” project. I kid you not.
The researchers have successfully grown wheat and lettuce in low-pressure chambers that are quite similar to the conditions on Mars and the moon. Fred Davies, Ph.D., a horticulturist working on the project, said that this is important because if humans plan to live in space for long periods of time, they will need self-sustaining, fresh food sources.
They say a full garden is “months away,” but honestly, that’s right around the corner! Davies says, “We are trying some different varieties of lettuce and some other salad bowl crops, such as Swiss Chard.”
What will they think of next? A drive-thru? It truly is amazing how far we’ve come.
