Lettuce Find Healthy Space Food! Citizen Scientists Study Space Salads

Missions on the Moon and Mars pose nutritional challenges for astronauts. Now, a new article on food items cultivated in space on the Moon and Mars pose nutritional challenges for astronauts, but volunteers from working groups on the analysis of scientific data of NASA (OSDR-AWG) work together to analyze data on the health of astronauts. The analytical working groups examine the biomedical data of NASA missions and the spatial experiences collected in the NASA open scientific data repository. These teams use data to answer questions in fundamental sciences, applied sciences and health results for spatial exploration.

For example, a recent article on food cultivated in space has examined data on lettuce cultivated on the international space station and the Tiangong II space station. He noted that the harvest contained 29 to 31% less calcium and 25% of magnesium less than terrestrial lettuce, not exceeding the needs in astronauts.

Lettuce tells you more! The study revealed two other health challenges for astronauts who leaned on vegetables grown in space.

• Disturbed calcium signaling: Analysis revealed that astronauts have experienced changes in the expression of 163 calcium genes, which could speed up bone loss.
• Flee intestinal syndrome: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) data show that astronauts have experienced compromises intestinal barriers due to the modification of protein production and regulation, probably disturbing their ability to absorb nutrients.

The researchers also proposed a solution to these problems: bio-conceived cultures.! Perhaps plants could be developed which are enriched with calcium or therapeutic proteins to compensate for the deficiencies observed in the lettuce cultivated in space.

This research was a collaboration between the ALSDA (Life Sciences Data Archive Ames), human analysis and plant working groups of the OSDR (the expansion of NASA Genelab focused on NASA Ames), as well as Bioastra, a non -profit organization in the life of spatial life. The data comes mainly from OSDR with contributions from the Space Omics and the Weill Cornell Medical Atlas.

You can join the OSDR analysis working groups yourself and help plan the future of human spatial exploration. Dozens of project groups are active at any time. Learn more about AWG.

B Barbero Barcenilla, R Rivero, A Lynch, W Cromer, J Gong, B Harandi, M Stegmann, H Le, D Lundine, M Chung, J Puig, K Mikhailova, H Coker, A Marks, Rachel R. Gilbert, Ryan T. Scott, R Barker, P GUWE, EG OVERBEY, this mason. (2025) Nourish the cosmos: approach personalized space nutrition and the fleeing intestinal challenge. Microgravity NPJ 11, 45. Https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-025-00490-zz