Since 2015, NASA astronauts have supplemented their space diet with fresh greens grown in the Vegetable Production System known as "Veggie" on the ISS.
One of the challenges with growing plants in space in "Veggie" has been keeping them properly watered.
The Tupperware Brands Corporation has now lent its design expertise to help develop a new approach to watering plants in space, NASA said in a statement on Friday.
With the "Veggie" system, astronauts have to push water into each plant pillow with a syringe.
In previous crops grown in the "Veggie" system using pillows, some plants fared better than others because not all the plants received equal amounts of water and oxygen.
"The primary goal of this newly developed plant growing system, the Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System, or PONDS, is to achieve uniform plant growth," said Nicole Dufour, "Veggie" Project Manager at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
NASA research scientist Howard Levine initially designed and prototyped "PONDS" but in early 2017, handed it off to Techshot -- a private spaceflight services firm -- to further develop and certify the demonstration unit for use on the orbiting laboratory.
Techshot then reached out to Tupperware to help create the new system that would provide an alternative to the plant pillows.
"PONDS units have features that are designed to mitigate microgravity effects on water distribution, increase oxygen availability and provide sufficient room for root zone growth," said Dufour.
The new PONDS system requires less crew maintenance and uses absorbent mats that leverage the basic principles of surface tension and capillary action to wick water to seeds and roots through a reservoir system.
This approach passively disperses water evenly through each plant cylinder contained within the PONDS' reservoirs, facilitating consistent seed germination and seedling development into mature plants.
"Tupperware brings a wealth of innovative design and knowledge of plastics to this project," said Dave Reed, Techshot PONDS project manager and the company's director of launch operations.
The new SpaceX CRS-14 commercial resupply mission has included seven PONDS modules plus an adapter plate so the modules can be installed in the "Veggie" system.
The four black opaque modules will grow "Outredgeous" red romaine lettuce -- the same lettuce that has been grown previously in the "Veggie" facility -- for about a month.
Six more PONDS modules are slated to launch on an Orbital ATK commercial resupply mission later this year and will be seeded with Mizuna mustard.
Both the lettuce and the mustard have already been grown in plant pillows as a part of previous Veggie experiments, so the plant pillow and PONDS growth data will be compared against one another, said NASA.
In January, the crew of four men and two women were quarantined on a vast plain below the summit of the giant volcano Mauna Loa -- one of Hawaii's five volcanoes and the world's largest.
They remained there for an eight-month simulation activity to gain a better understanding and to get a bit of a feel for how astronauts would respond mentally, physically, and most important, psychologically to a long-term on a manned space mission as well as in an inhospitable environment.
"Long term space travel is absolutely possible," Laura Lark, specialist at the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) project, led by the University of Hawaii at Manoa, was quoted as saying to the inquisitr.com on Saturday.
"There are certainly technical challenges to be overcome. There are certainly human factors to be figured out, that's part of what HI-SEAS is for. But I think that overcoming those challenges is just a matter of effort. We are absolutely capable of it," Lark added.
Their experiment included everything from being forced to live in the cramped habitat of the dome to having to rely solely on packaged food - and virtually no contact with another living soul.
The atmosphere was as similar as possible to what life on Mars would be. All of the communications the crew could have with the outside world was subjected to a 20-minute delay -- the time it takes for signals to get from Mars to the Earth.
The data gathered during this mission can better help in choosing crews that have certain traits and a better chance of doing well during a potential two-to-three year Mars expedition, which would then pave the way for humans settlement in the red planet by around 2030.
NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch will share the credit of performing the spacewalk at the International Space Station, CNN reported.
The two will receive support on the ground by Canadian Space Agency flight controller Kristen Facciol.
"I just found out that I'll be on console providing support for the first all female spacewalk with @AstroAnnimal and @Astro_Christina and I cannot contain my excitement," Facciol said in a tweet.
The March 29 spacewalk is second in a series of three planned spacewalks, NASA spokeswoman Stephanie Schierholz told CNN.
"Anne also will join Nick Hague for the March 22 spacewalk. And of course, assignments and schedules could always change," Schierholz added.
While McClain is currently on the ISS, Koch is set to blast off on March 14 to reach the space station.
The March 29 spacewalk is likely to last about seven hours, but NASA has not yet specified what tasks the two astronauts will perform.
The three companies are: Astrobotic of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Intuitive Machines of Houston, Texas; and Orbit Beyond of Edison, New Jersey, the agency said in a statement late Friday.
Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines plan to land their machines by July 2021 and Orbit Beyond aims for September 2020.
Each commercial lander will carry NASA-provided payloads that will conduct science investigations and demonstrate advanced technologies on the lunar surface.
"Our selection of these US commercial landing service providers represents America's return to the Moon's surface for the first time in decades, and it's a huge step forward for our Artemis lunar exploration plans," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
"Next year, our initial science and technology research will be on the lunar surface, which will help support sending the first woman and the next man to the Moon in five years," he added.
By the end of the summer, NASA will determine which payloads will fly on each flight.
The potential payloads include instruments that will conduct new lunar science, pinpoint lander position, measure the lunar radiation environment, assess how lander and astronaut activity affects the Moon, and assist with navigation precision, among other capabilities.
"These landers are just the beginning of exciting commercial partnerships that will bring us closer to solving the many scientific mysteries of our Moon, our solar system, and beyond," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, DC.
Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon within five years, NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans are based on a two-phase approach.
The first is focused on speed -- landing astronauts on the Moon by 2024 -- while the second will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028.
The two NASA astronauts began work on Monday to install modification kits required for the upcoming solar array upgrades, the US space agency said in a blog post.
The duo worked near the farthest set of existing solar arrays on the station's left side, known as P6.
A look at both @NASA_Astronauts working outside the @Space_Station today: Kate Rubins & @AstroVicGlover. They're installing bracket support structures at the base of the station's solar arrays, to enable future upgrades to the arrays. pic.twitter.com/Ed5OrxX8lt
— NASA (@NASA) February 28, 2021
As astronaut Kate Rubins continues work to secure a bolt on the bracket support structures at the base of the solar arrays, the @Space_Station is flying 261 miles over Venezuela and is about to pass over Brazil. pic.twitter.com/zTcPxaplEX
— NASA (@NASA) February 28, 2021
Glover built a bracket structure and worked with Rubins to attach the bracket and support struts to the mast canister, the base, of one of the P6 solar arrays, known as 2B.
One of the bolts did not fully engage on the first attempt, so Rubins used a power drill to back it out and reseat it, then used a ratchet wrench to tighten the bolt, reaching a safe configuration.
The bolt likely will need to be secured further before installing one of the new solar arrays that will be delivered to the space station later this year aboard SpaceX's 22nd commercial resupply services mission, NASA said.
Rubins and Glover then moved to begin identical assembly work for the bracket for the second of the P6 solar array pair, known as 4B.
They completed the construction of upper support hardware and secured it to the space station's exterior structure until work can be completed on the next spacewalk on March 5.
During the spacewalk on March 5, Rubins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi will venture outside the orbiting outpost to complete the installation of the 4B array modification kit and are expected to tackle additional work, NASA said.
The spacewalkers are getting ready to open the hatch to the @Space_Station and conclude today's spacewalk. @AstroVicGlover will be entering the airlock first, and astronaut Kate Rubins will follow closely behind. pic.twitter.com/J7gkcle3YJ
— NASA (@NASA) February 28, 2021
As the sun sets on station, Astronaut Kate Rubins enters the Quest airlock getting ready to conclude today's spacewalk. https://t.co/cBNqC5JGaz pic.twitter.com/VwdPSByeYs
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) February 28, 2021
Repressurization is underway and today's spacewalk has officially concluded at 1:16pm ET. @AstroVicGlover's and Kate Rubin's spacewalk lasted seven hours and four minutes. @Astro_Siochi and Rubins will continue today's work on the @Space_Station on Fri., March 5. pic.twitter.com/MQ5Fgr8KrZ
— NASA (@NASA) February 28, 2021