Astronauts harvest green chile peppers and eat 'best space tacos yet' in NASA first

Astronauts at the International Space Station were in for a treat when they had "space tacos" while orbiting the Earth.

On Friday, astronauts harvested the station's first round of Hatch chile peppers and added it their tacos as a part of a larger study about growing foods during long space missions, according to a tweet from the ISS Research account. 

The seeds arrived at the station in June and are from the NuMex "Española Improved" pepper. They get their name from Hatch, New Mexico, where peppers are largely grown, according to a statement from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

With fajita beef, rehydrated tomatoes, artichokes and Hatch chile as an added bonus, astronaut Megan McArthur tweeted she made the "best space tacos yet."

Spicing up astronauts' diets and growing a crop from seed to maturity is a space station first for the Plant Habitat-04 study.

“It is one of the most complex plant experiments on the station to date because of the long germination and growing times,” Matt Romeyn, principal investigator for PH-04, said in a NASA press release. 

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'Growing colorful vegetables': In a NASA first, astronauts are growing chile peppers on the International Space Station

It took roughly four months before the astronauts could chow down. The peppers turn red when they are fully ripe but can still be eaten green. 

According to NASA, the plan is for the astronauts to eat some peppers and send the rest back to Earth for analysis. The peppers will be harvested again for the last time later this month.

Since 2015, astronauts have been growing or cultivating plants  such as romaine lettuce, zinnias, and Chinese cabbage.

Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: agilbert@usatoday.com.