My space potatoes, grown aboard the ISS

by astro_pettit

26 Comments

  1. astro_pettit on

    I flew potatoes on Expedition 72 for my space garden, an activity I did in my off-duty time. This is an early purple potato, complete with spot of hook Velcro to anchor it in my improvised grow light terrarium.

    Potatoes are one of the most efficient plants based on edible nutrition to total plant mass (including roots). Recognized by Andy Weir in his famous book/movie “The Martian,” potatoes will have a place in future exploration of space. So I thought it good to get started now! I call this one “Spudnik!”

    More photos from space can be found on my [twitter](https://x.com/astro_Pettit) and Instagram, astro_pettit

  2. Congrats on the space potato!  Do you have any way to cook it, or will that be a seed potato for a future experiment?

  3. lostandthedamned on

    So how often did you mutter “I’m gonna have to science the shit out of this”?

    Every time you checked them or just at the start?

  4. What can someome that hasn’t dedicated their entire life to become an astronaut (which I know is insanely hard and challenging) do to get a shot at going to space or the ISS as a visit?

  5. Did you bring whole potatoes and let sprouts grow from them? How many potatoes did you bring?

    When you bring something like this into space that can grow, do you have to get it pre-approved?