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Astronaut Joe Acaba Farms in Space

Flight Engineer Joe Acaba
During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we're celebrating the contributions of the brilliant Hispanic women and men of NASA. In this image, astronaut Joe Acaba installs botany gear for the International Space Station's Veggie facility, to demonstrate plant growth in space.

In this image from November 2017, astronaut Joe Acaba installs botany gear for the International Space Station’s Veggie facility to demonstrate plant growth in space for the Veg-03 experiment. The botany study uses Veggie to cultivate cabbage, lettuce and mizuna, which are harvested on-orbit with samples returned to Earth for testing.

Acaba has logged a total of 306 days in space on three missions, including the STS-119 space shuttle mission and two tours on the space station. During his latest sojourn on the orbiting laboratory, Acaba, a former middle school math and science teacher, participated in the Year of Education on Station (YES) initiative, which took place from September 2017 to October 2018. While on board, he shared his love of STEM and passion for teaching.

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re celebrating the achievements of Acaba and other Hispanic astronauts and professionals at NASA.

Image Credit: NASA