BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan—Unfazed by the European E. coli outbreak originally blamed on cucumbers, a Japanese astronaut says he plans to harvest the vegetable in orbit.
Satoshi Furukawa is set to blast off early Wednesday for a half-year stint aboard the International Space Station along with Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov and NASA astronaut Michael Fossum Wednesday. Their mission will see the final arrival in orbit of a US shuttle.
Furukawa said Monday at the Russsia-leased Baikonur launchpad that he would be growing cucumbers as part of ongoing studies on how future space explorers can harvest their own food. He added ruefully that the astronauts will not be allowed to eat the cucumbers.
Volkov said the Russian segment plans to grow tomatoes and joked that he hoped astronauts might be granted permission to prepare a salad.