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Astronauts on International Space Station are growing chile peppers in a first for NASA:
The astronauts are growing red and green chile peppers in space for what will be "one of the longest and most challenging plant experiments attempted aboard the orbital lab," NASA said.
Hatch chile pepper seeds arrived at the station in June aboard a SpaceX commercial resupply services mission.
NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, a flight engineer who helped grow "Outredgeous" red romaine lettuce in space in 2016, initiated the experiment by inserting 48 seeds into the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) on July 12.
A team with Kennedy Space Center's Exploration Research and Technology programs planted those seeds in a device called a science carrier, which slots into the APH, one of the three plant growth chambers on the orbiting laboratory where the astronauts raise crops.
[...] Researchers spent two years evaluating more than two dozen pepper varieties and eventually landed on the NuMex "Española Improved" pepper, a hybrid Hatch pepper from New Mexico.
While astronauts have previously harvested veggies such as lettuce and radishes, this experiment could give astronauts something to satisfy their menu fatigue.
Romeyn said crew members may prefer spicy or seasoned foods because they can temporarily lose their sense of taste or smell after living in microgravity.
The peppers should be ready for harvest in about three and a half months. After eating some of them, the crew plans to send the rest to Earth for analysis.
Also at USA Today.
[Ed note] Apparently there are several variations on the spelling of chilli:
The chili pepper (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl chīlli [...], is the berry-fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum which are members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 21 2021, @03:29AM (12 children)
Let's see the Chinese manage THAT.
(Score: 4, Funny) by c0lo on Wednesday July 21 2021, @03:42AM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_cuisine [wikipedia.org]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Wednesday July 21 2021, @03:55AM (2 children)
Seems you've never tried to eat food from Sichuan and Hunan provinces.
https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-food/chuan-cuisine.htm [chinahighlights.com]
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 21 2021, @04:12AM
Sichuan peppercorn and mala sauce. China's greatest contribution to the civilization.
Try the Sichuan cold chicken salad.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 21 2021, @05:34AM
I may be misinterpreting OP's comment, but I think it's more likely everybody else is. The point he was making is that growing a pepper is pretty trivial. Framing it as an accomplishment is little more than evidence of the decline of our capacity in space. One of China's recent experiments included deploying an ideally self sustaining entire ecosystem on the moon. That experiment is the sort of stuff we need to be aiming for.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 21 2021, @03:56AM (7 children)
Surely the Chinese would be growing China peppers.
Chile is a nation south of Peru.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 21 2021, @04:51AM (6 children)
The wikipedia link posted by c0lo above informs that the Chinese actually do have their own peppers and peppercorns. But, at some time or other, they imported chile peppers from Mexico. You might click links now and then, to learn what you didn't already know.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 21 2021, @04:56AM (5 children)
Peppercorn (black pepper, white pepper, sichuan peppercorn, etc.) is not closely related to chili peppers of Americas.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 21 2021, @05:01AM (2 children)
Shoulda add: peppercorns are seeds, chili peppers are fruits.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 21 2021, @05:36AM
Potato, potaato, it's all the same when squirting out your ass as 500 km/h.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday July 21 2021, @11:37AM
Peppercorns are the seed inside the fruit of a flowering plant, and which contains most of the pungent chemicals.
Whereas chillis are the fruit of a flowering plant in which most of the pungent chemicals are concentrated in the seeds.
Thanks for disambiguating so clearly.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 21 2021, @05:34AM (1 child)
I don't recall suggesting that chiles are related to any Chinese peppers, peppercorns, or any other Chinese vegetable or spice. I merely pointed out that the Chinese have their peppers and peppercorns - and that they have adopted the chile pepper as well. The like chile peppers and they have become part of the cuisine.
Again, click the link(s) and learn. Stop being an obtuse American.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 21 2021, @05:47AM
Click your asshole.
Chilli peppers are from Americas. Not America - i.e., the USA, but from Americas, the north, the central, and southern Americas.