Netizens Terrified of What NASA Grew on the Space Station: A Potato
"Kill it with fire!!!" The post Netizens Terrified of What NASA Grew on the Space Station: A Potato appeared first on Futurism .
Over the weekend, NASA astronaut Don Pettit shared an image of an egg-shaped object floating in the International Space Station, sparking widespread panic and horror among social media users. The image, which appeared to show a creature with purple, tentacle-like protrusions, led many to believe that an extraterrestrial horror was growing on the space station. Some users even demanded that the object be "killed with fire," while others compared it to the alien eggs from the "Alien" films.
However, Pettit's impressive space gardening achievement was met with awe and praise from others, who recognized the object as a potato. In his tweet, Pettit cheerfully captioned the shot, "Spudnik-1, an orbiting potato on @Space_Station!" He explained that he had flown potatoes on Expedition 72 for his space garden, an activity he undertook in his off-duty time. The potato in question was an early purple potato, complete with a spot of hook Velcro to anchor it in his improvised grow light terrarium.
The "tentacles" on the potato were simply the sprouts growing out of it. While the appearance might have been unsettling, it is a natural occurrence when potatoes are left to sprout. Pettit shared that in the absence of gravity, the roots of the potato will grow in all directions, which might have contributed to the eerie appearance.
The white cilia on the potato's surface were actually a Velcro hook that Pettit had attached to keep the potato anchored in his terrarium. This detail, combined with the explanation of the potato's growth in microgravity, helped to alleviate some of the panic and confusion surrounding the image.
Despite the initial shock and horror, the story highlights the importance of context and understanding. The potato, which might have seemed like an alien horror to some, was simply a result of astronaut Don Pettit's space gardening efforts. It also serves as a reminder of how our perception of something can be greatly influenced by the context in which we encounter it. In this case, the lack of context led to a surge of fear and panic, but a simple explanation revealed the truth behind the mysterious object floating in space.
