Astronaut Koichi Wakata checks tomato plants growing inside the International Space Station for the XROOTS space botany study.
iss068e017824 (Oct. 21, 2022) — Astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) checks tomato plants growing inside the International Space Station for the XROOTS space botany study. The tomatoes were grown without soil using hydroponic and aeroponic nourishing techniques to demonstrate space agricultural methods to sustain crews on long term space flights farther away from Earth where resupply missions become impossible. Credit: Nicole Mann/NASA