NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – A scientist from New Mexico, who is also working for NASA, is now one step closer to launching New Mexico chile into space. “So I’m really excited because I got to place the seeds that are going to be launching up,” said Jacob Torres, a NASA scientist.
Torres is part of a team in Florida, working to grow vegetables in space. Torres and his team have been studying growing Chile in space. So they are sending Espanola chile to the International Space Station on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Video shows them putting the seeds into the carrier that will be aboard the rocket. “The astronauts will put that into the advanced plant habitat add water and we will all watch to see if New Mexico’s chile will be the first fruit grown in space,” Torres said.
The rocket will launch on June 3 as part of a supply mission. Leading up to that mission, Torres launched a new challenge encouraging people around the world to grow a pepper plant to see how chile grows in different environments.
Torres also says he got to witness four astronauts being launched into space Friday. Torres shot video of the Falcon 9 rocket and capsule. The astronauts lifted off early Friday morning and they are now in orbit and expected to dock at the Space Station at 5:10 a.m. Saturday.
