The scientists at NASA have officially chosen the first fruiting plants to go into space, and they’re being grown with FlorikanCRF! The Española chile pepper will be grown inside a new, highly advanced growing chamber called The Advanced Plant Habitat or “APH” for short. Here are the four key blends NASA has chosen for this important crop in low Earth orbit.
● FlorikanCRF Total-Z w/ Nutricote® 14-4-14 100 Day ● FlorikanCRF Total-Z w/ Nutricote® 14-4-14 180 Day ● FlorikanCRF Polymer Coated Nitrogen and Calcium – 70 Day ● FlorikanCRF Polymer Coated Potassium and Magnesium – 100 Day
Here is a great quick explanation of the APH system provided by Matthew Romeyn, Space Crop Production Project Scientist
“The Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) is Veggie on steroids. Unlike the Veggie plant growth system, APH is a sealed growth chamber. Being a closed system allows for total control over all the environmental variables, such as temp, humidity level, and atmospheric composition, which allows researchers to isolate variables and better focus in on the microgravity variable. Also unlike Veggie, APH uses an active water delivery system and has a full spectrum LED lighting system.” Everyone at Florikan is excited about the next phase of the sustainable life support projects at NASA, and what they mean for long term spaceflight and possibly colonization of other worlds. Congratulations! (Photos Credit NASA)