Galaxy Greens
Salads might be on the menu in a galaxy far, far away.
If Elon Musk sees his dream of sending people to Mars come to fruition, then he can rest easy knowing it will be possible for passengers to eat nutritious salads. A NASA-sponsored study in Frontiers in Plant Science found that lettuce grown on the international space station, in what they call “veggie plant growth chambers,” retained most of its nutritional value, including its antioxidant levels. Also, the lettuce leaves didn’t contain any potentially harmful bacteria. So it might be wise for Mars-bound missions to bring along a green thumb and a case of bottled salad dressing.
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, is a James Beard Award–winning food journalist, dietitian and author of the cookbook Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sport + Adventure (VeloPress 2016). He has written for dozens of magazines, including Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Shape, Men’s Fitness and Muscle and Fitness.
