For the VEG-01 and VEG-03 demonstration tests, plants were grown from seeds in plant pillows. Plant pillows are small growing bags that interact with a root mat water reservoir on the Veggie baseplate. Pillows contain a calcined clay substrate mixed with controlled release fertilizer and wicks for seed attachment. Surface sanitized seeds are glued into these plant pillow wicks, and pillows are packaged for flight under sterile air.
Not exactly soil or traditional hydroponics. Sounds more like a nutrient-rich sponge to hold the water in place in the zero-g environment.
throws_lemy in space
Space-grown lettuce falls short on calcium and magnesium for astronaut diets, citizen scientists find
https://phys.org/news/2025-09-space-grown-lettuce-falls-short.htmlCome on lettuce, step it up
edit getting downvotes from the lettuce apologists I see, well I for one refuse to steer away from this iceberg
I didn't read the article yet, but I'm guessing it was hydroponically grown and not in soil or compost, is that correct?
Shame on you, but your honesty is commendable :)
The news article doesn't provide details on how the lettuce was grown, but the scientific references do if you follow the chain.
https://phys.org/news/2025-09-space-grown-lettuce-falls-short.html
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41526-025-00490-z
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.00199/full
Not exactly soil or traditional hydroponics. Sounds more like a nutrient-rich sponge to hold the water in place in the zero-g environment.