The opening of “Space Farming: The Final Frontier,” Jesse Hirsch’s Modern Farmer piece about Tang-less space crews producing their own food:

“Last year, an astronaut named Don Pettit began an unusual writing project on NASA’s website. Called ‘Diary of a Space Zucchini,’ the blog took the perspective of an actual zucchini plant on the International Space Station (ISS). Entries were insightful and strange, poignant and poetic.

‘I sprouted, thrust into this world without anyone consulting me,’ wrote Pettit in the now-defunct blog. ‘I am utilitarian, hearty vegetative matter that can thrive under harsh conditions. I am zucchini — and I am in space.’

An unorthodox use of our tax dollars, but before you snicker, consider this: That little plant could be the key to our future. If — as some doomsday scientists predict — we will eventually exhaust the Earth’s livability, space farming will prove vital to the survival of our species. Around the world, governments and private companies are doing research on how we are going to grow food on space stations, in spaceships, even on Mars. The Mars Society is testing a greenhouse in a remote corner of Utah, researchers at the University of Gelph in Ontario are looking at long-term crops like soybeans and barley and Purdue University scientists are marshaling vertical garden design for space conditions. Perhaps most importantly, though, later this year NASA will be producing its own food in orbit for the first time ever.”