In the coming months, NASA scientists plan to fly the NuMex Espa\u00f1ola Improved chile to the International Space Station, where it will be part of an ongoing experiment to grow crops without gravity \u2014 and perhaps eventually on Mars.<\/p>\n
Espa\u00f1ola native Jacob Torres, a contracted technical and horticultural scientist at NASA, has spent the last two years working on the mission, known as PH04, and similar plant growth projects.<\/p>\n
The mission is part of NASA\u2019s long-term goal to land on Mars by 2034 and eventually colonize the red planet. For Torres, being part of such a revolutionary mission is a small step for man, but a giant leap for his community back home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I can get to this point that I\u2019m at now, anybody can do it,\u201d Torres told the Santa Fe New Mexican.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are told \u2018Espa\u00f1ola is the worst,\u2019 so we believe it,\u201d he said. \u201cThere needs to be somebody on the opposite spectrum, saying \u2018No, we aren\u2019t.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Growing up, Torres said, he lacked motivation and \u201cwasn\u2019t a good student at all.\u201d In junior high, after a run-in with local gang members, he was kicked out of Espa\u00f1ola Public Schools and enrolled at McCurdy Charter School for his freshman year of high school.<\/p>\n
After \u201cbarely graduating\u201d in 1997, Torres decided to postpone college and move to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he bussed tables at Hard Rock Cafe and later became the restaurant\u2019s manager at age 20. Because much of his family worked in restaurants \u2014 his grandfather, Juan Valencia, owned Espa\u00f1ola\u2019s iconic Johnny\u2019s Bar \u2014 it seemed likely he was headed down that same path.<\/p>\n
He went on to manage actor Bill Murray\u2019s chain restaurant, Murray Bros. Caddyshack, in South Carolina and Florida for five years. But when a hurricane destroyed one of Murray\u2019s newer restaurants just five months after opening, Torres said \u201cthat was the catalyst that was like, \u2018OK, time to move on, man.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
At 27, Torres decided to go back to school \u2014 first for an associate degree at Northern New Mexico College to study renewable energy and automotive technology, and then on a full-ride scholarship to New Mexico State University for a bachelor\u2019s in mechanical engineering.<\/p>\n
After working at a diesel manufacturer in Indiana, he applied to graduate school at Purdue University, where he earned a master\u2019s in mechanical engineering technology.<\/p>\n
During his second year of grad school, Torres decided to apply for an internship at NASA, although the possibility of being accepted felt like a long shot.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone said I had no chance. \u2026 I had a professor who literally said, \u2018I don\u2019t know why you\u2019re wasting your time,\u2019 \u201d Torres said. \u201cIt broke my heart, but it made me work harder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much to his surprise, Torres caught NASA\u2019s eye, largely because his grad school thesis was focused entirely on a technology called BioWall \u2014 an automated light and irrigation system that uses plants to filter air.<\/p>\n
\u201cNASA was basically doing the same thing, but for growing crops for astronauts,\u201d Torres said. \u201cSo, when my application came in, they said, \u2018Oh, this is awesome, an engineer who grows crops.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
After finishing the 10-week internship, Torres was invited to stay an additional four weeks. At the end of 2018, he was hired as a full-time contracted scientist at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida \u2014 several months before he finished his thesis and graduated from Purdue.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking back now, it seems like there was a plan for me the whole time. I just didn\u2019t know what it was,\u201d Torres said. \u201cIt\u2019s almost like I\u2019m living a script.\u201d<\/p>\n
[\u2013][\u2013][\u2013]<\/p>\n
Growing plants for Mars<\/p>\n
Torres, 40, is part of a team of about 20 NASA scientists dedicated to growing plants sans gravity \u2014 a critical step toward eventually colonizing Mars.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe anticipate sending humans to the fourth planet as early as the 2030s,\u201d NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement. \u201cWhat seems like science fiction \u2014 getting a crew to Mars, landing them on the surface to explore and conduct experiments, and bringing them safely home \u2014 is on the horizon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before NASA\u2019s first astronaut lands on the red planet, crews must do research to ensure astronaut diets are supplemented during a two-year round trip. Traveling to Mars is expected to take a minimum of six months, depending on planet alignment, and astronauts would spend about a year on Mars before returning home, Torres said.<\/p>\n
Growing plants in space is not a new concept. Scientists started experimenting with partial grow-outs in the 1960s and \u201970s. \u201cWhat\u2019s new is the hardware \u2014 what we\u2019re growing them in,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n
Before, astronauts had about three days to germinate seeds, he said, \u201cbut now we have the capability to do full grow-outs,\u201d which allows astronauts to consume fully matured, more nutrient-rich produce.<\/p>\n
Torres said prepackaged meals would not last long enough to feed astronauts for two years because nutrients degrade over time. Plus, there are only so many packaged foods available, which causes meal fatigue.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you imagine eating the same thing over and over again? We wanted to give them something fresh,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Another perk of growing plants in space is the psychological benefit, said Matthew Romeyn, a space crop production project scientist at NASA. Being on a spacecraft far from home for long periods of time can take a toll on astronauts\u2019 mental health, and projects like these can be a positive outlet for meaningful work, he said.<\/p>\n
On these missions, \u201ca plant can be a really good way for them to have something to do,\u201d Romeyn said.<\/p>\n
David Hanson, a biology professor at the University of New Mexico and an expert on plant physiology, worked on the initial PH01 mission at NASA. He said astronauts, including Serena Au\u00f1on-Chancellor, would \u201clight up and get all happy\u201d while working with the PH01 sprouts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe connect to Earth through plants a lot more than we realize,\u201d Hanson said, adding these interactions can alleviate homesickness. \u201cIt\u2019s clear \u2026 the psychological value of growing plants up there. People argue whether (the act of growing a plant) is more important than the actual nutritional value.\u201d<\/p>\n
[\u2013][\u2013][\u2013]<\/p>\n
Choosing crops for space<\/p>\n
Still, without pollinators like bees, there are biological limitations on what plants can grow and which variations will perform best.<\/p>\n
Until now, NASA had focused on growing things like lettuce, leafy greens and mizuno mustard, but it is working to diversify that list. \u201cIf you\u2019re an astronaut on Mars, you can\u2019t live on lettuce alone,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n
Although peppers are not self-pollinating, a grower can tap the flower or shake it to assist with fertilization. Given that peppers also provide high levels of Vitamin C \u2014 higher than many citrus fruits \u2014 they seemed like a great option to grow in outer space, said Romeyn, who has worked on the project for five years.<\/p>\n
The question is: \u201cWhich one do you grow? What pepper do you pick? That\u2019s where we scratch our heads,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n
Amid its pepper research, NASA came across New Mexico\u2019s Hatch chiles. In meetings about the crop, Torres, still an intern at the time, suggested they try other New Mexico strands from up north, since chiles at higher elevation have evolved to grow faster than the typical 140-day growth period of a Hatch chile. The goal then became to find a \u201cHatch-like pepper that matures faster,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In August 2019, after running a number of tests on Hatch, Espa\u00f1ola, Chimay\u00f3 and other strands from New Mexico State University\u2019s Chile Pepper Institute, \u201cwe officially said Espa\u00f1ola Improved is our one,\u201d Torres said. Of more than 40 pepper variations the team tested, this Hatch-Espa\u00f1ola hybrid is the one that will grow in a next phase of research.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the ambassador chile that represents all of the peppers,\u201d Torres said. \u201cIt\u2019s not that this is the best pepper in the world. It means that it\u2019s the best pepper we can grow in this environment in space that we know of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Romeyn said the chile has been fantastic, because even before it\u2019s fully mature, it can be consumed when the red peppers are still green.<\/p>\n
For Torres, the whole process is hard to believe \u2014 but not just for personal reasons. He hopes the success of this experiment will make all of New Mexico proud, especially people from Espa\u00f1ola.<\/p>\n
Well aware of the negative stereotypes of Rio Arriba County, including alcoholism and opioid abuse, Torres said it\u2019s critical to set a positive example for youth in the area. He hopes his story teaches others that they can overcome hardship and choose a better path.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to change the future for these kids who are coming up next, and that means making some noise,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s showing them, \u2018Look, I\u2019m from Espa\u00f1ola, and look what I\u2019m doing. If I can do it, you can do it, too.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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