One small head of lettuce: NASA crew to eat space-grown veggies for the first time

On the menu tomorrow, August 10, at the International Space Station, Expedition 44 crew members will do something mankind has never before done—eat "fresh food grown in the microgravity environment of space" while in space.

This weekend NASA announced this small milestone as part of its ongoing plant experiment, Veg-01.The initiative aims to study "the in-orbit function and performance of the plant growth facility and its rooting 'pillows,' which contain the seeds." Monday isn't the first time anyone will study or taste some of the "Outredgeous" red romaine lettuce being grown on the ISS (as Engadget notes, the first batch of Veg-01 crop was sent back for study), but NASA has never before kept the crop in orbit for consumption. The organization notes this ability to create sustainable food is an important ingredient in the organization's long term plans to reach Mars.

"The farther and longer humans go away from Earth, the greater the need to be able to grow plants for food, atmosphere recycling and psychological benefits. I think that plant systems will become important components of any long-duration exploration scenario," said Dr. Gioia Massa, NASA payload scientist for Veggie at the Kennedy Space Center, according to the press release. "We hope to increase the amount and type of crop in the future, and this will allow us to learn more about growing plants in microgravity. We have upcoming experiments that will look at the impacts of light quality on crop yield, nutrition and flavor, both on Earth and in space."