If Earthlings are ever going to colonise Mars, they won\u2019t be able to do so on an empty stomach \u2014 and Temidayo Oniosun thinks a helping of Egusi soup, a Nigerian staple, might just hit the spot.\n<\/p>\n
Space in Africa, the Lagos-based firm Oniosun founded, is expecting its Egusi melon seeds to splash down in the Pacific Ocean Saturday \u2014 fresh from a trip to the International Space Station.\n<\/p>\n
Once Earthside, experiments will begin on what is being hailed as the first food native to West Africa to be sent to space.\n<\/p>\n
As Oniosun told AFP on Friday, it could herald an era where space exploration reflects the planet\u2019s diversity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we talk about humans colonising other planets, this is not just an American mission or a European mission \u2014 this is a global mission,\u201d he told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
And future African space explorers might enjoy a taste of home.\n<\/p>\n
Experiments on extraterrestrial food, which is to say, tested in space, have been going on for years.<\/p>\n
Growing food in space is seen as a crucial part of long-distance space flight and long-term missions, where frequent resupply won\u2019t be feasible.\n<\/p>\n
\u2013 International tests \u2013\n<\/p>\n
Scientists at the University of Florida in the United States and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, in the southwestern Nigerian city of Ibadan, will examine the seeds \u201cto see the effects of exposure to space\u201d and zero gravity, including on the seeds\u2019 DNA.\n<\/p>\n
Once planted, researchers will monitor their post-space performance and germination. <\/p>\n
The seeds went up to the ISS on a SpaceX Flight last week, as part of NASA\u2019s partnership with private firms.\n<\/p>\n
Oniosun said the inclusion of Egusi seeds marked an important step forward, both for those on Earth as well as future astronauts.\n<\/p>\n
High in protein, they are typically used to prepare soups and stews across West and Central Africa.<\/p>\n
Africa\u2019s most populous country has a small space industry, but the launch of the seeds seemed to generate more excitement on social media and in newspapers than previous launches of Nigerian satellites, he said.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe moment that we\u2019re sending food that they love, a food that holds significant cultural contexts to Nigeria\u2026 everybody starts getting interested in the subject,\u201d Oniosun told AFP.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe launch of Egusi melon seeds into space is more than a symbolic gesture,\u201d he added.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe future of humanity among the stars must reflect the diversity and richness of life on Earth.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Whether pounded yams \u2014 the key dish served alongside Egusi soup \u2014 will make its way to the final frontier remains to be\u00a0seen.\n<\/p>\n
\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If Earthlings are ever going to colonise Mars, they won\u2019t be able to do so on an empty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53216,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[90,416,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-53215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-science","tag-space","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}