Chickpea Seeds To Be Flung Into Space From Virginia's Wallops Island

By Sarah Vogelsong, Virginia Mercury

February 18, 2022

Chickpea enthusiasts aren’t satisfied with either the once-humble legume’s skyrocketing popularity in the U.S. or the construction of the largest hummus factory in the world outside of Richmond to fuel that growing appetite.

No, chickpea boosters have their sights set on a far grander stage: space.

This Saturday, chickpea seeds are set to be flung into Earth’s orbit from Virginia as part of a resupply mission to the International Space Station from Wallops Island off the Eastern Shore.

According to a release from Virginia State University’s College of Agriculture, the chickpea launch is part of an experiment by Stanford University and partners including Aviv Labs and Sabra, the owner of that massive hummus factory in Virginia.

The so-called “Space Hummus” seeds will be transported in nutrient-filled gel trays inside a mini-greenhouse, and cameras will film the crop 24/7 to see if in fact chickpeas can be grown in space.

“Chickpeas are ideal for space cultivation consideration because they are fast growing, high in nutrition and have a short seed-to-seed cycle,” said a release from VSU, which is promoting the launch as part of a partnership with Sabra.

Michelle Olgers, a spokesperson for the university’s College of Agriculture, also noted in an email that “the growing technology and issues being addressed as part of this space project is the same or very similar to what our food scientists and horticulturalists are working on right now, albeit to solve problems closer to home, on Earth.”

In a briefing on the resupply mission Friday, Jennifer Buchli, deputy chief scientist with the International Space Station Program, said 16 types of plants will be grown in the station’s “veggie facility” over the next six months.

This story was originally published by the Virginia Mercury. For more stories from the Virginia Mercury, visit Virginia Mercury.com.