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By NASA
A member of the space crop production team prepares materials for Veggie seed pillows inside the Space Systems Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. NASA/Cory S Huston When the Crew-11 astronauts launched to the International Space Station on August 1, 2025, they carried with them another chapter in space farming: the latest VEG-03 experiments, complete with seed pillows ready for planting.
Growing plants provides nutrition for astronauts, as well as psychological benefits that help maintain crew morale during missions.
During VEG-03 MNO, astronauts will be able to choose what they want to grow from a seed library including Wasabi mustard greens, Red Russian Kale, and Dragoon lettuce.
From Seed to Space Salad
The experiment takes place inside Veggie, a chamber about the size of carry-on luggage. The system uses red, blue, and green LED lights to provide the right spectrum for plant growth. Clear flexible bellows — accordion-like walls that expand to accommodate maturing plants — create a semi-controlled environment around the growing area.
Astronauts plant thin strips containing their selected seeds into fabric “seed pillows” filled with a special clay-based growing medium and controlled-release fertilizer. The clay, similar to what’s used on baseball fields, helps distribute water and air around the roots in the microgravity environment.
Crew members will monitor the plants, add water as needed, and document growth through regular photographs. At harvest time, astronauts will eat some of the fresh produce while freezing other samples for return to Earth, where scientists will analyze their nutritional content and safety.
How this benefits space exploration
Fresh food will become critical as astronauts venture farther from Earth on missions to the Moon and Mars. NASA aims to validate different kinds of crops to add variety to astronaut diets during long-duration space exploration missions, while giving crew members more control over what they grow and eat.
How this benefits humanity
The techniques developed for growing crops in space’s challenging conditions may also improve agricultural practices on Earth. Indoor crop cultivation approaches similar to what astronauts do in Veggie might also be adapted for horticultural therapy programs, giving elderly or disabled individuals new ways to experience gardening when traditional methods aren’t accessible.
Related Resources
VEG-03 MNO on the Space Station Research Explorer
Veggie Vegetable Product System
Veggie Plant Growth System Activated on International Space Station
About BPS
NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division pioneers scientific discovery and enables exploration by using space environments to conduct investigations not possible on Earth. Studying biological and physical phenomenon under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth.
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By NASA
While it may sound like the opening to a punchline, this scientific question was at the heart of a research experiment that orbited the Moon aboard Artemis I.NASA astronaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei caring for chili peppers aboard the International Space Station. NASA New research uncovers the connection between space agriculture and astronaut health. A study published in npj Microgravity shows how analyzing diverse datasets together can reveal insights that might otherwise be missed — in this case, linking space-grown food quality to astronaut nutrition and gut health.
The paper reviewed previous studies of plants grown aboard the International Space Station. The authors found that some edible plants grown in low Earth orbit have lower concentrations of essential nutrients, like calcium and magnesium, than those grown on Earth.
The reduced levels of these nutrients could make crops not as effective in mitigating the bone loss and reduced immune function that astronauts encounter in space.
Working Groups Uncover Hidden Health Connections
Three Analysis Working Groups from NASA’s Open Science Data Repository collaborated to make this paper possible. These discipline-specific groups typically work independently, but this project sparked conversations among researchers with different specialties.
Researchers combined plant data, crop nutrition profiles, gut studies, and astronaut blood biomarkers — a data integration effort of the Biological and Physical Sciences Division open science model. The work also draws on data from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).
For NASA, these findings offer new insights into how to feed and support astronauts in space, particularly on long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.
Seeks Ways to Improve Space Diets
The study also examined increased intestinal permeability — often called “leaky gut” — a condition that can result from poor nutrition and may be exacerbated by the space environment. Intestinal permeability may interfere with how astronauts absorb nutrients and regulate immune responses.
If properly engineered, space-grown crops could offer a solution to these health challenges. The team outlined several potential strategies, including bioengineering plants with higher nutrient content, incorporating more antioxidant-rich species, and designing personalized nutrition plans using astronauts’ genetic information.
The study suggests targeting specific biological pathways, such as using compounds like quercetin, an antioxidant found in certain crops, to address bone health challenges at the molecular level. The approach emphasizes designing nutrition plans based on individual astronaut physiology, including how well their digestive systems can absorb nutrients.
Related Resources
Open Science Data Repository
Open Science Data Repository Analysis Working Groups (AWG)
About BPS
NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division pioneers scientific discovery and enables exploration by using space environments to conduct investigations not possible on Earth. Studying biological and physical phenomenon under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth.
View the full article
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By Space Force
Space Systems Command and United Launch Alliance's launch teams successfully completed the inaugural launch of a Vulcan Centaur rocket, carrying the U.S. Space Force-106 mission into geosynchronous Earth orbit.
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By Space Force
Space Systems Command and United Launch Alliance's launch teams successfully completed the inaugural launch of a Vulcan Centaur rocket, carrying the U.S. Space Force-106 mission into geosynchronous Earth orbit.
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By European Space Agency
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have found strong evidence of a giant planet orbiting a star in the stellar system closest to our own Sun. At just 4 light-years away from Earth, the Alpha Centauri triple star system has long been a compelling target in the search for worlds beyond our solar system.
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