NASA astronauts have finally got to enjoy a spicy, space-grown treat after the successful first harvest of Hatch chile on the International Space Station.
This is the recipe for space taco, according to a CNET report: "Take fajita beef." Add in rehydrated tomatoes and artichokes. Put all the ingredients mentioned in a tortilla.
The Hatch chile is grown in space for months. The science and tech news site specified, all of these were done while in orbit around Earth on the ISS.
Astronauts on the space station indulged in a special treat following the successful harvest of peppers that have been growing there since July 2021.
Hybrid Hatch Chile
The peppers are from NuMex "Espanola Improved" seeds, also known as the hybrid Hatch chile. Hatch is a town and region located in Mexico that's famous for its peppers.Megan McArthur, a NASA astronaut, tweeted on Friday about having to taste both green and red when they stay on the plant longer and shared photos of tacos she made, which she said, her "best space tacos yet."The astronauts mixed in some serious science to accompany the snack. In a statement, NASA said the work involved microbial assessment in enhancing insight of plant-microbe interactions in space and the assessment of flavor of the crew, as well as the texture and nutrition of the first peppers grown in space.
'Chili-Fest'
The astronauts have planted kale and lettuce, as well as Chinese cabbage in orbit. NASA described their "chili-fest" as one of the most multifaceted plant experiments to date on the station because of the long germination and growing times.
Called the Plant Habitat-04, NASA said in a statement, this study on the ISS is one way the space agency is looking ahead at keeping astronaut food interesting, engaging, not to mention nutritious for longer-term missions to the Mars and moon. This chile experiment is still ongoing.
Essentially, the Crew-3 astronauts getting ready for launch to the ISS this week are expecting their second harvest later this November.
Back on this planet, New Mexicans usually prepare green chile by roasting over a flame and then having the skin peeled off. As for Red chile, it is typically dried.
Meanwhile, in space, the ISS crew did not have the luxury to roast or dry the peppers, although fresh food of any type is a treat for astronauts.
1st Harvest of Chile on the ISS
Late last week, it was reported that New Mexico chile "has been growing on the ISS, and astronauts have already tried the first harvest.
In this plant project in space, Espanola Jacob Torres, a technical and horticultural scientist from Espanola, is playing a vital role in partnership with NASA.
Torres and the other teams involved in the project collaborated for the first-ever harvest of the New Mexico chile. As specified in this report, seven "Espanola improved" peppers, a cross between the Sandia pepper and Espanola pepper, were harvested, a KOB 4 report said.
Four of these peppers will be stored in the freezer and taken back to Earth, where Torres's team will evaluate them.
This report indicated that the remaining harvests would be enjoyed by astronauts in space and the first fruit to be consumed in orbit.
Related information about the Plant Habitat-04 Experiment is shown on Science and Tech News's YouTube video below:
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