What was the first vegetable grown in space?

As humanity ventures deeper into space, we need more than freeze dried meals and nutrition paste. Back in the mid-1990s, astronauts faced an exciting new frontier. Could they become the solar system's first farmers? The quest to grow food in space was about to take one small step for vegetables, one giant leap for space agriculture. Which humble vegetable would become our first successful space crop?

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The answer is: Potato

In fall 1995, researchers aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia conducted an experiment that would change space agriculture forever. They took ten potato cuttings, planted half in moistened soil on Earth and sent the others skyward. The Russians had sent potatoes to space in the 1970s, but they were just passengers, not pioneers.

Within weeks, the orbital cuttings developed into small tubers, mirroring their Earth-bound twins. Lab tests later proved these orbital spuds were basically normal potatoes that just happened to grow while floating around Earth at 17,000 miles per hour.

This wasn't just a cool science experiment. Potatoes are perfect space food because about 80% of the plant is edible, and they're packed with nutrients. Sure, the International Space Station now grows fancy lettuce and spicy peppers, but that first successful potato was the seedling to growing food in space.

The next challenge? Figuring out how to grow them on the Moon and Mars. The soil up there is basically crushed rock with none of the good stuff plants need. But if we can grow potatoes in space, maybe lunar french fries aren't as far fetched as they sound.