Japanese astronauts to grow cucumbers in space
They might not be everybody's favourite vegetable on Earth right now, but a Japanese astronaut plans to harvest cucumbers on board the International Space Station.
Satoshi Furukawa is set to take off into space on Wednesday for a six-month stint in orbit with Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov and Nasa astronaut Michael Fossum.
Furukawa explained he has experiments scheduled for the next few months and would be growing cucumbers as part of ongoing studies into how future space explorers will be able to harvest their own food.
Millions of concerned consumers across Europe have been spurning cucumbers in the wake of an E.coli outbreak blamed on contaminated vegetables that has killed 22 and sickened more than 2,200.
Mindful of their own health ahead of their mission, astronauts at the Russia-leased Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan remain in strict isolation in the days ahead of any launch to avoid exposure to infection.
Furukawa, a doctor, told the Daily Mail: 'We wish we were able to eat the cucumbers, but we have not been allowed.'
Volkov said the Russian segment will be planting tomatoes and joked that he hoped astronauts might be granted permission to prepare a salad.
'To be honest, what I would really like is fried potatoes,' he joked.
Japan has led the way in trying to raise culinary standards in space. Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who is in Baikonur escorting Furukawa's family, even made his own sushi while on the space station last year.
Fossum, Furukawa and Volkov are due to return to Earth from the space laboratory in the middle of November.
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