NASA Studying Behavioural Changes In Astronauts Working With Plants in Space

NASA is conducting a study to see how astronauts feel about growing their own vegetables on the International Space Station (ISS). Growing your own vegetables and eating them fresh has many health and nutritional benefits. The space agency says the study will also help to understand whether gardening in free time can help astronauts ease their sense of confinement on the space station.

Preliminary results suggest that some astronauts preferred to work with plants, spending hours of their free time, during their missions, caring for plants. The agency said in a blog post that others spent their time doing different activities. Despite the variable behavior they displayed, none of the astronauts saw their work with plants as “meaningless”; Everyone valued the usefulness of growing plants in space.

The study will help NASA better design food systems for future space missions (Mars exploration, for example). Designing a space food system is a delicate task, requiring scientists to ensure that the food provides sufficient sustenance for long-duration missions. NASA scientists are already working on developing such a feeding system for astronauts.

Dr. Gioya Massa, a project scientist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is leading research on vegetable cultivation in space. His team is asking astronauts to complete a survey about their space-gardening experience. For example, Mizuna mustard growers survey the plant two to three times for a month-long growth cycle.

Massa’s team is trying to understand how space-gardening affects astronauts’ moods as to whether gardening was attractive, demanding or worthwhile. Did it affect the performance of mission tasks or relationships with crew members? How did gardening affect sensory stimulation for sight, touch, smell and taste? When vegetables are ready to be eaten, they will be asked to evaluate taste, colour, appearance, aroma, texture and taste for sensory evaluation.

So far, seven astronauts have completed the survey, but researchers expect a total of 24 astronauts to be surveyed eventually.

“We are learning which crops to grow to help supplement the diet, which activities should be automated or remotely conducted, and which should have options for crew participation,” Massa said.

Different space missions will require different solutions, he said. For now, their focus is on adaptability.

June 03, 2021