Vegetable Production System
Short Name:The short name or acronym of the facility. Veggie
Facility Description
The Vegetable Production System (Veggie) is a plant growth unit on the ISSInternational Space Station that is capable of producing salad-type crops to provide the crew with a safe, palatable, and nutritious source of food, while also providing a tool to support recreation and relaxation. Veggie provides nutrient delivery and light. It uses the cabin environment for temperature control and as a source of carbon dioxide. Veggie has also been used to support fundamental space biology experiments such as the Advanced Plant Experiments (APEX) and educational space biology activities. Veggie is installed in an EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack. Plants are grown in pillows and PONDS units. Light levels can be set. An in-orbit light sensor is used to measure the number of photons ranging from 400 to 700 nm, also known as PAR. A handheld light meter is also available.
Availability:The general availability status of the facility. Please contact the facility manager
ISS Environment:The facility location (internal or external to the ISS.) Internal
Owner:The entity that owns the facility. NASA
Operator/Implementation Partner:The entity or ISS National Lab Implementation Partner that operates the facility.
Aegis Aerospace
Developer(s):The entity, or entities, that developed the facility.
NASA Kennedy Space Center;
Sierra Nevada Corporation
Facility Manager:The name of the facility manager and their organization.
Dinah Dimapilis,
NASA Kennedy Space Center
Manager Email:The facility manager's email address.
dinah.i.dimapilis@nasa.gov
Parent Facility:Any facility that is necessary to operate the facility described on this webpage. i.e., a parent facility is one level higher in the operational hierarachy. EXPRESS Rack
Child Facility:Facilities that can be operated within the facility described on this webpage.
Sponsoring Space Agency:The government space agency that sponsors investigations that use the facility. NASA
Equipment Category:"The facility's ISS National Lab equipment designation type. Designations include:
1. ISS National Lab Commercial Service Provider (CSP) Facility
2. Support Hardware
3. Capability Capability
Additional Information:Additional resources to learn more about the facility.
Past VEGGIE investigations on NASA’s SSRE
Veggie PONDS Validation
Culture-based Environmental Monitoring of Crop-based Space Food Systems (Veggie Monitoring)
eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS)
Domesticating Algae for Sustainable Production of Feedstocks in Space (Space Algae)
Targeting Improved Cotton Through On-orbit Cultivation (TICTOC)
Microalgae Biosynthesis in Microgravity (MicroAlgae)
Veggie hardware validation test (VEG-01)
Veg-03 I/J/K/L
Pick-and-eat Salad-crop Productivity, Nutritional Value, and Acceptability to Supplement the ISS Food System (Veg-04A)
Pick-and-eat Salad-crop Productivity, Nutritional Value, and Acceptability to Supplement the ISS Food System (Veg-04B)
Pick-and-eat Salad-crop Productivity, Nutritional Value, and Acceptability to Supplement the ISS Food System (Veg-05)
Pick-and-Eat Salad-Crop Productivity, Nutritional Value, and Acceptability to Supplement the ISS Food System (HRF Veg)
Dissecting Beneficial Plant-Microbe Interactions and their Efficacy in the ISS Spaceflight Environment, a Model Study (Veg-06)
Advanced Plant EXperiments-03-1 (APEX-03-1)
Epigenetic change in Arabidopsis thaliana in response to spaceflight – differential cytosine DNA methylation of plants on the ISS (APEX-04)
Spaceflight-Induced Hypoxic-ROS Signaling (APEX-05)
Using Brachypodium distachyon to Investigate Monocot Plant Adaptation to Spaceflight (APEX-06)
Advanced Plant EXperiment-07 (APEX-07)
Advanced Plant EXperiment-08 (APEX-08)
C4 Photosynthesis in Space, C4 Space (APEX-09)
Plant-Microbe Interactions in Space (APEX-10)
Outredgeous red leaf lettuce
Commander Steve Swanson harvests plants for the VEG-01 investigation. He is harvesting them on the Maintenance Work Area (MWA) in the Node 2/Harmony. The Veg-01 hardware validation test investigation utilizes the Veggie facility on ISS. This investigation will assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie,and focus on the growth and development of Outredgeous Lettuce (Lactuca sativa ) seedlings in the spaceflight environment and the effects of the spaceflight environment on composition of microbial flora on the Veggie-grown plants and the Veggie facility. Lettuce plants are harvested on-orbit, frozen at <-80oC and returned to the ground for post-flight evaluation. Microbial sampling swabs will be taken of the Veggie facility and plant material, frozen and returned to the ground for environmental microbiological examination. Rooting pillows and water sample syringes will also be returned for microbial sampling and root analysis. Image courtesy of NASA.