SpaceX sends up avocados, ice cream, and other supplies to the International Space Station for research and experiment

American aerospace company SpaceX launched a capsule to the International Space Station containing 4,800 pounds of supplies like fresh food and technology equipment, which arrived on Monday, Aug. 30. They will be used for research and experiments that include growing food in space. 

According to The Associated Press, this is the company’s 23^rd supply launch for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in under ten years. The supplies will be used by seven astronauts in the ISS namely Mark Vande Hei, Oleg Novitskiy, and Pyotr Dubrov who have been there for 143 days as well as Megan McArthur, Shane Kimbrough, Akihiko Hishide, and Thomas Pesquet who have been there for 129. 

They are set to monitor the growth and behavior of different items in a weightless setting such as ants, brine shrimp, and plants from The Girl Scouts, mouse-ear cress seeds from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a human-sized robotic arm from a Japanese firm, which “will attempt to screw items together in its orbital debut and perform other mundane chores normally done by astronauts.” 

Additionally, as per chief technology officer Toyotaka Kozuki, Gitai Inc.’s future robot models “will venture out into the vacuum of space to practice satellite and other repair jobs,” AP reported.