On August 10, 2015, three astronauts aboard the International Space Station ate lettuce they had grown themselves in space, about 250 miles above Earth. According to a peer-reviewed study by Massa and colleagues, published in the journal Open Agriculture, the crop was grown as part of an experiment called VEG-01, a hardware validation test designed to check whether the Veggie growth chamber could function properly in microgravity and grow food safe enough for the crew to eat. The astronauts picked red romaine lettuce, cleaned the leaves with sanitizing wipes, and ate them with a splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. That may seem like a small thing, but it answered a question NASA has been working toward for years: can a crew safely grow, harvest, and eat its own food while living off the planet?
A historic bite 250 miles above Earth
