NASA’S SPACE LETTUCE IS SAFE AND NUTRITIOUS, PAVING WAY FOR CROPS ON THE MOON AND MARS

BY HANNAH OSBORNE ON 3/6/20 AT 12:01 AM EST

The lettuce grown on board the International Space Station between 2014 and 2016 was just as safe and nutritious as crops cultivated on Earth, scientists have found. The finding will help pave the way for vegetables to be grown during longer missions to the moon, Mars and beyond, researchers say.

Red romaine lettuce seeds were sent to the ISS as part of an experiment to see if cultivation in space was possible. Astronauts grew and ate the lettuce as part of the Vegetable Production System experiment, dubbed “Veggie” for short…