NASA launches ‘Veggie’ project, expands fresh food production on Space Station

April 11, 2014: NASA has launched its new ‘Veggie’ project which can expand fresh food production on Space Station. This in turn will help the NASA researchers to get a detailed understanding of in-orbit function of its plant pillows as well. In its later stages, it will also on the development of ‘Outredgeous’ lettuce seedlings in the spaceflight environment.

Commenting on the goal of this project, Gioia Massa, NASA payload scientist for Veggie, said, “Determining food safety is one of our primary goals for this validation test.”

Veggie is a low-cost plant growth chamber that uses a flat-panel light bank. This plant chamber includes red, blue and green LEDs for plant growth and crew observation. The body make of Veggie is collapsible for transport, storage and expandable up to a foot and a half. “The internal growing area is 11.5 inches wide by 14.5 inches deep, making it the largest plant growth chamber for space to date,” highlighted Massa.

Gioia Massa also stated that Veggie might also be used as a useful resource for crew food growth and consumption. Instead, this project will also help astronauts for better recreational gardening activities during long-duration space missions.

“Veggie will provide a new resource for US astronauts and researchers, as we begin to develop the capabilities of growing fresh produce and other large plants on the space station,” concluded Gioia Massa, NASA payload scientist for Veggie.