back to article Lettuce in SPAAACE: Captive ISS 'nauts insist orbital veg is 'awesome'

As promised, astronauts aboard the International Space Station have eaten the first ever "fresh food grown in the microgravity environment of space" - "Outredgeous" red romaine lettuce. Astronauts Scott Kelly, Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui were the first to sample the produce from the Veggie orbiting vegetable patch, although …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    LED grow lamps ....

    ... not all they are cracked up to be. Much less yield than (say) HPS or MH.

    Although it does depend what exactly you are growing.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: LED grow lamps ....

      Really Officer, it's lettuce er or wild parsley, I'm having trouble remembering.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I'm having trouble remembering.

        That's because marijuana can impair memory, cognitive ability and, erm.... oh yeah, memory!

  2. Crisp
    Pint

    Could this technology be used to grow hops?

    Just curious...

    1. Tachikoma
      Pint

      Re: Could this technology be used to grow hops?

      Micro (gravity) brewery!

      1. Charles Manning

        Brewing in SPAAAACE

        I'm trying to work out whether brewing would actually work in space.

        As yeast grows and dies it rises and sinks through the beer with different yeasts doing different things.

        No gravity would imply no up/down rising/falling. Would the yeast actually function properly?

        Perhaps we need to work out an XPrize mission to find out. After all, this is very important; sending a mission to Mars and beyond with no beer would be seriously bad for morale.

        1. Martin Budden Silver badge
  3. Leeroy
    Coat

    It's lettuce Jim, but not as we know it.

    Doesn't taste that good Bones.

    Damn it Jim. I'm an doctor not a botanist.

    1. Martin Gregorie

      Doesn't taste that good Bones.

      It has to be better than that stuff most USAian restaurants sell as lettuce.

      1. Fungus Bob

        And our grocery stores.

    2. Chris Miller
      Coat

      Missed their chance

      Should have grown Rocket.

  4. hatti

    One giant fart

    One small step to the fart in a spacesuit gag becoming reality.

    1. Fibbles
    2. b166er

      Re: One giant fart

      So gastronauts in both senses then?

  5. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Go

    Jokes and puns aside this is what you need to start to do *serious* exploring.

    You can't send people dot Mars/Venus/Jupiter on a huge wave of ready meal boxes.

    Now you did remember to pack the ingredients for the dressing, didn't you?

    Otherwise

    "Houston, we have a problem."

    1. chivo243 Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: Jokes and puns aside this is what you need to start to do *serious* exploring.

      I keep thinking 'Crouton we have a problem!' I can't figure out why for the leaf of me.

      That would be my green coat ;-}

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How long before "Space grown" becomes the new Organic

    No need for pesticides in space.

    Plus, think of the market for *ehem* other plant's. Could call that particular strain Spaceman. Guaranteed to get you as high as where it was grown. ;-)

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So the 'Right Stuff' for being an astronaut now, is being a Vegan.

    How much 'Space Lettuce' would you have to grow to get you to MARS and back? Can't they just send up lots of packs of Marks & Spencer's Wafer Thin Ham?....its WAFER thin, NASA.

    1. Fungus Bob
      Boffin

      Re: How much 'Space Lettuce' would you have to grow to get you to MARS and back?

      Not much if Patrick Smash is on board...

      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283054/?ref_=nv_sr_1

    2. Captain DaFt

      Re: So the 'Right Stuff' for being an astronaut now, is being a Vegan.

      "How much 'Space Lettuce' would you have to grow to get you to MARS and back?"

      I was thinking along the lines of the American Indians' "Three Maidens", Corn, beans, and squash planted together.

      Simple, easy to grow, and about as nutritionally complete as vegan fare gets. Just make sure to pack lime for nixtamalizing the corn.

      And to make sure the mission succeeds, look the other way when when some astronaut smuggles a pig onboard. :)

  8. Zog_but_not_the_first
    Alien

    That's NOT a lettuce

    Das is ein THING!

  9. i steal your leccy
    Alien

    Cordon Bleughh!!

    Apparently it tastes delicious on a Ritz Cracker, washed down with a nice glass of Urine Recyc

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Cordon Bleughh!!

      If we do meet any Alien civilizations out there, we'd better not breathe on them in case we start a Galactic War.

      1. Mark 85

        Re: Cordon Bleughh!!

        ...we'd better not breathe on them in case we start a Galactic Garlictic War.

        FTFY, they might have some even more potent strains of the stuff...

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Gas Giant...

    = Portly Astronaut.

    1. Fungus Bob

      Re: Gas Giant...

      That joke stinks!

  11. Fink-Nottle

    Ground Control to Major Tom

    Your lettuce is red, there's something wrong

    Can you hear me, Major Tom?

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    lettuce pray that this mission is a success

    Cos it deserves to be.

  13. Tromos

    Priorities up the spout

    Why start with the least important ingredient of a BLT?

    1. Mark 85

      Re: Priorities up the spout

      Patience Grasshopper. One must start with a single-step before one makes bacon.

  14. Kaltern

    I think the logical next step is space farming.

    I mean, you can grow food for the cows now, and if you were to just use those pygmy ones, you could have a little herd floating about up there.

    And as they wouldn't need to use any muscles, even the rump steak would be awesome.

    I'm sure it'll be sold in M&S for 100 times the price, so those with too much money can spend it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      And reduce methane emissions on earth!

  15. stairway

    It's about damn time they started being self sufficient up there.

    It's certainly a good way to recycle solid waste, especially on long voyages. I'll be waiting to see how far they take this.

  16. Trigonoceps occipitalis

    QUATERMASS

    I bet you thought this was a drama not a documentary!

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