Supporting safe, sustainable crop production on the International Space Station

Astrion contributes to NASA research validating how fresh food can be grown and safely consumed during long-duration space missions

As space agencies prepare for longer missions beyond low Earth orbit, one challenge is becoming increasingly clear: how to reliably grow fresh, safe food in space.

A recent study published in Nature’s Scientific Reports demonstrates a significant breakthrough through the successful cultivation of chile peppers aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The experiment demonstrated that a fruiting crop can be grown, harvested, and safely consumed in microgravity, marking an important step forward in space-based agriculture.

Astrion supported this effort through its work on NASA’s LASSO II contract, where it operates and maintains a diverse set of laboratories, developmental shops, and test facilities in support of multiple projects at Kennedy Space Center.

LaShelle Spencer served as the contractor science team lead on the Plant Habitat-04 (PH-04) project. Her team, which I was part of, was responsible for crop selection and development, identifying and cultivating pepper varieties suitable for growth in ISS’s Advanced Plant Habitat, and maintaining ground control experiments, which are critical for comparing how plants grow in space versus Earth-based conditions.

Following the mission, the Astrion team directed the post-flight phase and played a key role in processing returned samples to conduct food safety and microbiological assessments. This work helped validate one of the study’s most important findings: the harvested peppers showed low microbial counts and no detectable foodborne pathogens, confirming they were safe for astronaut consumption.

Beyond safety, the research also provides new insight into how microbial communities interact with plants in space – information that will be essential for designing reliable, closed-loop food production systems for future missions to the Moon and beyond.

Together, these efforts reflect the kind of integrated science and engineering required to support human space exploration, from enabling crop growth in orbit to ensuring the food produced meets the highest safety standards.

You can read the full study here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-20440-9

To learn more about Astrion’s work in space, visit: https://astrion.us/space/.