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Growing Cucumbers in Space

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Department: 
The International Space Station
Teaser: 

"Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa plans to harvest cucumbers during his months-long stay at the International Space Station."

Link: 

Green Thumb in Space: Astronaut to Grow Zero-G Cucumbers

Source: 

SPACE.com Download time: Jun 7 2011 1:13 PM ET

Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa may be leaving planet Earth behind for a months-long trip to the International Space Station this week, but he won't forget his veggies: Furukawa plans to grow cucumbers in space in the name of science.

During his 5 1/2-month space trek, Furukawa will grow cucumbers on the space station for an experiment to study how future space travelers can harvest their own food on longer missions that push further out into the solar system, reported the Associated Press.

Furukawa, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NASA astronaut Mike Fossum and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov are slated to launch toward the International Space Station today (June 7) at 4:12 p.m. EDT (2012 GMT). The spaceflying trio will lift off in a Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonour Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.…

See SPACE.com for links to further info.