Great news for all lovers of Mexican food: you can grow chile peppers in space. Buckle up, everyone, because space exploration just got a lot tastier.
Chile Peppers and Tacos in Space
As you may remember, in one of our previous posts we talked about Mexican food and its role in space exploration.
We saw how thanks to a Mexican Astronaut, Rodolfo Neri Vela, NASA discovered that tacos are the ideal space food: easy to make, can be eaten with just one hand, and leave almost no crumbs.
No doubt, this is a cool tidbit of space history. But it turns out that the topic is getting spicier by the day.
On October 29, the International Space Station announced that the station’s first crop of chile peppers had been harvested, in what they call “one of the most challenging station plant experiments to date.”
Happy pepper picking day aboard the @Space_Station!🌶️Today @Astro_Sabot gets the honor of harvesting the station’s first crop of chile peppers as a part of the Plant Habitat-04 study, one of the most challenging station plant experiments to date. https://t.co/f1LHkidhFn pic.twitter.com/dim8uHNZbs
— ISS Research (@ISS_Research) October 29, 2021
This is exciting news by itself, but then NASA went on to prove what all Mexicans already know: wherever you have chile peppers, you gotta have tacos as well.
If you need scientific evidence of this principle, just check out this tweet by astronaut Megan McArthur, a statement that may have earned her honorary Mexican status.
Friday Feasting! After the harvest, we got to taste red and green chile. Then we filled out surveys (got to have the data! 😁). Finally, I made my best space tacos yet: fajita beef, rehydrated tomatoes & artichokes, and HATCH CHILE! https://t.co/pzvS5A6z5u pic.twitter.com/fJ8yLZuhZS
— Megan McArthur (@Astro_Megan) October 29, 2021
“Friday feasting!”, she wrote. “After the harvest, we got to taste red and green chile. Then we filled out our surveys (…) Finally, I made my best space tacos yet: fajita beef, rehydrated tomatoes & artichokes, and HATCH CHILE!”
We have to object to the artichoke part, Megan. But we’ll give you a pass: helping bring the goodness of chile peppers to other galaxies is no small potatoes.
More Interesting Facts About Mexican Food
If you are hungry for more stories and facts about Mexican food, then check out these previous posts:
- Dia de Muertos and food: some interesting facts
- Mexican food in space: 3 facts you probably didn’t know
- Which is the best part of the Chicken?
- 8 Interesting facts about tacos
Enjoy Authentic Mexican Food at El Pollo Norteño!
Looking for authentic Mexican food to celebrate Mexico’s Independence Day in, Anaheim, Santa Ana, or Garden Grove? Then El Pollo Norteño is the place to go.
Visit today any of our four locations (Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Garden Grove), order online, get in touch through Facebook, or call 866-MI-POLLO to enjoy our authentic Mexican dishes: amazing chicken grilled to perfection over real Mesquite charcoal, caldo de pollo, flan, carnitas, carne asada, and more!