VEG01A: Microbiological and Nutritional Analysis of Space-Grown Lettuce

NASA's VEG01A dataset compares red romaine lettuce grown in the International Space Station's Veggie chambers with Earth-grown controls. The study includes heterotrophic plate counts for bacteria and fungi, isolate identification, Next Generation Sequencing for community composition, and analysis of elemental content, phenolics, anthocyanins, and ORAC levels. Data was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling the impact of microgravity and radiation on plant microbial communities based on bacterial and fungal plate counts and NGS data.
• Comparing nutritional content of space-grown vs. Earth-grown crops based on elemental composition (Fe, K, Na, P, S, Zn) and phenolic levels.
• Assessing food safety protocols for space agriculture based on pathogen screening and microbial diversity in leaf and root tissues.
• Analyzing plant growth strategies for long-duration missions based on harvest method comparisons (single vs. sequential).

Strengths

• Includes multiple analytical methods: heterotrophic plate counts, isolate identification, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), and nutritional assays.
• Direct comparison between flight (ISS) and ground control experiments, with ground controls grown using ISS environmental data.
• Study provides baseline data for the continual operation of the Veggie plant growth units on the ISS.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is provided in BIN and HTML formats, which may require specialized tools for access and analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Experimental data from Veggie plant growth chambers on the International Space Station and simultaneous ground controls.

Time Range

Covers the VEG-01A and VEG-03A experiment periods.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 19:36:28.105750; freshness should be verified.

Geography

International Space Station and corresponding ground control locations.