The next Commercial Resupply Services mission launched by NASA
is to present astronauts a new and innovative Vegetable
Production System, which will allow them to grow their own crops
in outer space and eat fresh salads whenever they so please.
Although NASA's astronauts are already busy enjoying the healthy
treats the Lada greenhouse unit and the Advanced Biological
Research System are providing them with, it seems that this
latest facility designed especially for growing plants during
their missions is the simplest and most efficient of the three.
Some of the vegetables that have already been successfully grown
whilst testing this unit include lettuce, radishes, Chinese
cabbage and peas. The specialists who have worked on designing
this Vegetable Production System (VEGGIE, for short) claim that
the unit only needs 115 watts to do its job, and weighs about 15
pounds (6.8 kilograms). In other words: it is perfectly suited
to meet the astronauts’ needs and not place too much strain on
the resource they have at