INTRODUCTION HIGH FLIERS Space shuttle Atlantis takes off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida When you hear the word astronaut you might think of rumbling rockets blasting skyward lifting humans into space You might think of men and women floating in space in bulky space suits Or perhaps you envision people walking on the moon You probably don’t think about vegetable gardens when you hear the word astronaut but you should That’s because high overhead about 248 miles 399 kilometers above Earth on a spacecraft called the International Space Station ISS astronauts are growing lettuce and other vegetables under indoor lights In August 2015 US astronauts ate space grown food for the first time 4
This lettuce was grown in space Why grow gardens in space Everyone needs fresh vegetables to stay healthy and astronauts are no different Unpiloted cargo vehicles often deliver supplies to the ISS The deliveries include fresh fruits and vegetables But the ISS has no refrigerators for food so astronauts eat the fresh foods right away Then astronauts return to a diet of freeze-dried packaged foods plus some veggies grown on board when to look you can see the ISS from Earth as a If you know where and bright light moving across the night sky You don’t even need a telescope
Astronauts grow different kinds of plants on the ISS These plants will later produce flowers above An astronaut works with growing equipment on the ISS below The lettuce and other vegetables grown on the ISS don’t just help nourish the astronauts The ISS vegetable gardens are part of an experiment Scientists want to find the best ways to grow foods in space because the United States hopes to send astronauts on a three-year round-trip journey to Mars A spaceship on its way to Mars a journey of millions of miles couldn’t be resupplied by cargo ships Instead astronauts would have to rely on stored packaged foods and vegetables grown on board 6
OUT OF THIS WORLD Astronauts in space face a dangerous journey Powerful rockets blast capsules holding astronauts into orbit Even a small mechanical failure or human miscalculation can cause an explosion during launch The ISS and other spacecraft are safe havens for astronauts with supplies of food and oxygen but only if all systems are working properly One mishap anything from an oxygen leak to a collision with space debris can spell doom for an astronaut crew And the trip back home is a bumpy fiery journey through Earth’s atmosphere requiring split-second decision making for a safe landing More than twenty astronauts have been killed in accidents before or during space travel Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti smiles for the camera aboard the ISS left The station is packed full of complex systems that astronauts must maintain to stay safe and complete their missions above
