A viral image shared by Don Pettit from the International Space Station has caused confusion online after a strange, tentacled object appeared to resemble something from science fiction.
A widely circulated post on X showed a grey, lumpy object with sprout-like extensions, leading some users to speculate that it was something alien.
One commenter wrote: “I really thought it was some kind of egg bursting.”
Another said: “Somehow the velcro makes it look exotic. Time to bring back quarantine.” A third said: ‘That’s how it starts.’
However according to Pettit, the explanation is far more common. The object is a potato grown in orbit, which they have named Spudnik-1.
“This is an early purple potato, complete with a spot of hook velcro to anchor it in my improvised grow-light terrarium,” said Petit.
“I flew potatoes on Expedition 72 for my space garden, an activity I did in my off-duty time.”
Responding to questions about growing crops in microgravity, he explained: “The roots will grow in all directions in the absence of gravity, and all the plants I have grown in space so far have grown much more slowly than on Earth.”
NASA continues to experiment with growing food in space, as fresh produce is considered essential for long missions, where the nutrients in packaged food diminish over time.
