Astronauts have attempted to grow lots of different kinds of food in space over the past few years, but one type of produce that’s never grown above the ozone layer is chickpeas.
But that’s about to change because on February 19th NASA is teaming up with SpaceIL, a non-profit trying to land an Israel space ship on the moon, Stanford University, and Israel food conglomerate Strauss to send a specially designed miniature greenhouse that contains 28 chickpea seeds to grow in space.
From the Times of Israel:
Inside the white metal box will be 28 chickpea seeds from Israel that Winetraub and his team will attempt to germinate and grow — remotely, using special software — in an environment free of gravity and natural light. The plants in the greenhouse will be grown for one month and then will be refrigerated until they are brought down to Earth in June.
The specially designed greenhouse, which is the size of a shoebox, was designed by SpaceIL and a group of scientists from Stanford University. Strauss, the company behind the well-known hummus brand Sabra, not only helped develop the mini greenhouse but also chose the chickpea seed. The seed, called the ‘Zehavit,’ is used to make the Israel-based version of Strauss’s hummus (sold under the Achla brand).
The creation of such a small closed-loop greenhouse is a scientific feat made possible by recent advancements in synthetic biology. Scientists have discovered they could use light to control signaling pathways of a plant in small systems like this, including growth, flowering, and photosynthesis rates.
For Strauss, the partnership not only marks the kind of high-visibility brand engagement that most food companies would pay significant money to participate in but also could be a sign of things to come as space travel continues to heat up. We’ve already seen many food companies participating in the Deep Space Food Challenge use their participation as a brand builder, and some future food companies like Aleph Farms make space food a significant part of their company identity.
If you’d like to watch the new chickpea-growing greenhouse launch into space, you can watch a livestream on February 19th at 12:39 Easter here.
