Lashelle Spencer, a plant scientist with the Laboratory Support Services and Operations contract at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, observes and documents the growth of peppers after harvesting them on Jan. 15, 2020, inside the Space Station Processing Facility. As NASA prepares to send humans beyond low-Earth orbit, the ability for astronauts to grow a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in space will be critical. Fresh produce will be an essential supplement to the crew’s pre-packaged diet during long-duration space exploration when they are away from Earth for extended periods of

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Lashelle Spencer, a plant scientist with the Laboratory Support Services and Operations contract at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, observes and documents the growth of peppers after harvesting them on Jan. 15, 2020, inside the Space Station Processing Facility. As NASA prepares to send humans beyond low-Earth orbit, the ability for astronauts to grow a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in space will be critical. Fresh produce will be an essential supplement to the crew’s pre-packaged diet during long-duration space exploration when they are away from Earth for extended periods of time.

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Photo credit: © NASA/piemags / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: astrobiology, biology, center, chile, crops, facility, food, growing, hatch, international, iss, kennedy, ksc, nasa, pepper, plants, processing, production, space, sspf, station