Egusi soup, a basic dish of Nigerian cuisine, could one day be consumed on the Moon or Mars, as the melon seeds from which this rich and aromatic dish were prepared for seven days in orbit around the Earth and returned to study by space scientists.

Egusi seeds were transferred to the International Space Station with a capsule launched by NASA’s Kennedy Space Flight Center this month as part of a study of their reaction to space conditions.

“The goal is that in the next two decades, when people live in the Moon, Mars and try to cultivate food … foods coming from Africa to be part of it,” said Temidayo Oniosun, who chose seeds for the mission.

“So, even in 50 years, if Africans live in the Moon, we want to cultivate and plant egusi,” said Nigerian businessman, founder of the Space Infrend Company.

Egusi seeds, an excellent source of protein, were packaged in special test tubes in the Crew-11 space capsule that was launched on August 1st with some traditional seeds from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Armenia and Pakistan.

Scientist Wagner Vendrame of the University of Florida, one of the researchers involved in the program, said future astronauts will need a greater variety and better food quality than over-processed meals that are currently in space.

“The ability to cultivate their own, let’s say, lettuce, tomatoes or melons in space is not only important for their nutrition and health, but it also has psychological effects when you eat a fresh melon as opposed to something that is processed,” he said.

Oniosun, who chose the egusi seeds who traveled in space from shopping in the southwestern state of Oyo in Nigeria, said that this option was not only based on the nutritional properties of seeds, but also on their symbolism.

“Everyone in Nigeria eats egusi, as do other peoples in some Western African countries and Africans of the diaspora, so this mission is something they can identify with,” he said. “Egusi is the seed that tells our story,” he said.

The seeds in orbit are now distributed to researchers. Vendrame said they would multiply and be studied for genetic changes caused by the time they spent in orbit.

“By observing changes in plants and seeds themselves, we can say: are these plants still the same? Will they still provide the same level of nutrients to astronauts? “He concluded.