Want to go to Mars? Then you could end up eating a lot of lettuce. But not any ordinary lettuce.
Researchers from the University of California, Davis, have genetically engineered lettuce to produce a drug based on a human hormone that keeps bones strong.
It is the latest development in the emerging field of designing food and drugs suitable for long-distance space travel.
Astronauts lose on average about 1 per cent of their bone mass a month in space.
“Right now, astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have certain exercise regimens to try to maintain bone mass,” said Kevin Yates, who presented the team’s work at the American Chemical Society meeting earlier this week.
“But they’re not typically on the International Space Station for more than six months.”
A round trip to Mars would take around three years (as long as you didn’t get left behind like Mark Whatney in The Martian).
To prevent bone loss for that period of time, you’d not only need to commit to a serious workout, but you’d have to inject yourself with parathyroid hormone (PTH) every day.
So let us take a closer look at how this lettuce fits in with the future of space travel.
Why lettuce?
At the moment, astronauts onboard the ISS mainly eat ration packs, with the occasional fresh food delivery when a new spacecraft arrives.
This means “menu fatigue” quickly sets in, said Matthew Gilliham, director of the Waite Research Institute at the University of Adelaide.
“Astronauts lose 10 per cent of their body weight within the first few weeks of being on the space station, partly because of the monotonous diet,” said Professor Gilliham.
So NASA has been experimenting with growing plants such as lettuce on the ISS.
“Lettuce is great because it grows…
