why grow gardens in space? everyone needs fre...
why grow gardens in space? everyone needs fresh vegetables to stay healthy, and astronauts are no different. unpiloted cargo vehicles often deliver supplies to the iss that include fresh fruits and vegetables. the astronauts must eat the fresh foods right away. the iss has no refrigerators for food. then astronauts return to a diet of freeze - dried packaged foods—plus some veggies grown on board. but the lettuce and other vegetables grown on the iss dont just help nourish the astronauts. the iss vegetable gardens are part of an experiment. scientists want to find the best ways to grow foods in space because the united states hopes to send astronauts on a three - year, round - trip journey to mars. a spaceship on its way to mars—a planet millions of miles away—couldnt be resupplied by cargo vehicles. instead, astronauts would have to rely on stored, packaged foods, and on vegetables grown on board. you might say the idea of gardens in space is growing on people! vegetables grown on the iss help nourish the astronauts. fill in the blanks to explain another reason for growing gardens on the iss. scientists ____ how to best grow foods in space. growing vegetables in space would help astronauts ____ mars, since the ____ mars would make restocking an in - flight spacecraft impossible.