Space
Future Mars astronauts’ diet will likely include space lettuce
Elon Musk wants to send a million people to Mars, and we would love to see that happen sooner rather than later.
But what will we feed them?
Since 2014, NASA has been busy studying the development of different types of plants on the space station. Using a special plant-growth chamber, called Veggie, the agency is trying to perfect the art of making space salad.
A new study published last week in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science explains that lettuce grown in space is as nutritious and tasty as any variety grown on Earth.
“The ability to grow safe, fresh food to supplement packaged foods of astronauts in space has been an important goal for NASA,” reads the paper.
Currently, astronauts on the space station rely on prepackaged food to sustain them during their time on orbit. (They also enjoy occasional treats sent up on cargo resupply missions, such as fresh fruit.) But with the help of plant chambers like Veggie, astronauts could one day crunch on healthy salads.
Packaged foods are nutritious enough, but do not have everything a person needs (or wants). The ability to have fresh fruits and vegetables on Mars could do wonders for an astronaut’s health. Not only do plants provide key nutrients, but they could also help life-support systems on any potential Mars city by helping to scrub carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
NASA and other space agencies around the world have been studying plants in space almost as long as we’ve been sending astronauts to space. But with the construction of the space station and advent of the veggie chamber, the research can track growth over longer periods and with more crops.
Organisms grow differently in space, so understanding how plants respond to microgravity is an important step toward ensuring that future astronauts will have the ability to grow their own crops in space, especially as we start sending humans back to the moon and onto Mars.
From 2014 to 2016, researchers sent batches of “Outredgeous” red romaine lettuce seeds to space, to see if and how well they grew inside the Veggie chamber. In space there’s no gravity or soil or rain like the plants here on Earth rely on. There’s also 16 sun rises and sun sets in space, so the crops will need steady light to help them grow. Where does that come from?
The Veggie chamber is outfitted with special LED lights, tuned to a specific wavelength in order to help the plants grow. (Set to 16 hours of light and 8 hours of darkness.) Plant pillows are placed in the chamber, each equipped with its own water supply, fertilizer, and seeds. The astronauts can control the amount of water each plant receives and other settings like humidity.
The lettuce plants were allowed to grow for approximately one month before being harvested and sent back to Earth for testing. (Yes, the astronauts were allow to eat some, after they were deemed safe.)
When compared to ground-based experiments, researchers found that the crops contained the same level of nutrients that the terrestrial crops did. (Not to mention the same microbes.) The only recorded differences was a slight variation in mineral content, in particular in iron, potassium, and zinc.
In a groundbreaking new report from Reuters, SpaceX is reportedly discussing merger possibilities with xAI ahead of the space exploration company’s plans to IPO later this year, in what would be a blockbuster move.
The outlet said it would combine rockets and Starlink satellites, as well as the X social media platform and AI project Grok under one roof. The report cites “a person briefed on the matter and two recent company filings seen by Reuters.”
Musk, nor SpaceX or xAI, have commented on the report, so, as of now, it is unconfirmed.
With that being said, the proposed merger would bring shares of xAI in exchange for shares of SpaceX. Both companies were registered in Nevada to expedite the transaction, according to the report.
On January 21, both entities were registered in Nevada. The report continues:
“One of them, a limited liability company, lists SpaceX and Bret Johnsen, the company’s chief financial officer, as managing members, while the other lists Johnsen as the company’s only officer, the filings show.”
The source also stated that some xAI executives could be given the option to receive cash in lieu of SpaceX stock. No agreement has been reached, nothing has been signed, and the timing and structure, as well as other important details, have not been finalized.
SpaceX is valued at $800 billion and is the most valuable privately held company, while xAI is valued at $230 billion as of November. SpaceX could be going public later this year, as Musk has said as recently as December that the company would offer its stock publicly.
The plans could help move along plans for large-scale data centers in space, something Musk has discussed on several occasions over the past few months.
At the World Economic Forum last week, Musk said:
“It’s a no-brainer for building solar-powered AI data centers in space, because as I mentioned, it’s also very cold in space. The net effect is that the lowest cost place to put AI will be space and that will be true within two to three years, three at the latest.”
He also said on X that “the most important thing in the next 3-4 years is data centers in space.”
If the report is true and the two companies end up coming together, it would not be the first time Musk’s companies have ended up coming together. He used Tesla stock to purchase SolarCity back in 2016. Last year, X became part of xAI in a share swap.
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk trolls budget airline after it refuses Starlink on its planes
“I really want to put a Ryan in charge of Ryan Air. It is your destiny,” Musk said.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk trolled budget airline Ryanair on his social media platform X this week following the company’s refusal to adopt Starlink internet on its planes.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Ryanair did not plan to install Starlink internet services on its planes due to its budgetary nature and short flight spans, which are commonly only an hour or so in total duration.
Initially, Musk said installing Starlink on the company’s planes would not impact cost or aerodynamics, but Ryanair responded on its X account, which is comical in nature, by stating that a propaganda it would not fall for was “Wi-Fi on planes.”
Musk responded by asking, “How much would it cost to buy you?” Then followed up with the idea of buying the company and replacing the CEO with someone named Ryan:
I really want to put a Ryan in charge of Ryan Air. It is your destiny.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 19, 2026
Polymarket now states that there is an 8 percent chance that Musk will purchase Ryanair, which would cost Musk roughly $36 billion, based on recent financial data of the public company.
Although the banter has certainly crossed a line, it does not seem as if there is any true reason to believe Musk would purchase the airline. More than anything, it seems like an exercise of who will go further.
Starlink passes 9 million active customers just weeks after hitting 8 million
However, it is worth noting that if something is important enough, Musk will get involved. He bought Twitter a few years ago and then turned it into X, but that issue was much larger than simple banter with a company that does not want to utilize one of the CEO’s products.
The insufferable, special needs chimp currently running Ryan Air is an accountant. Has no idea how airplanes even fly.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 20, 2026
In a poll posted yesterday by Musk, asking whether he should buy Ryanair and “restore Ryan as their rightful ruler.” 76.5 percent of respondents said he should, but others believe that the whole idea is just playful dialogue for now.
But it is not ideal to count Musk out, especially if things continue to move in the direction they have been.
SpaceX employees, including its CEO Elon Musk, shaded American Airlines on social media this past weekend due to the company’s reported talks with Amazon’s Starlink rival, Leo.
Starlink has been adopted by several airlines, including United Airlines, Qatar Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, WestJet, Air France, airBaltic, and others. It has gained notoriety as an extremely solid, dependable, and reliable option for airline travel, as traditional options frequently cause users to lose connection to the internet.
Many airlines have made the switch, while others continue to mull the options available to them. American Airlines is one of them.
A report from Bloomberg indicates the airline is thinking of going with a Starlink rival owned by Amazon, called Leo. It was previously referred to as Project Kuiper.
American CEO Robert Isom said (via Bloomberg):
“While there’s Starlink, there are other low-Earth-orbit satellite opportunities that we can look at. We’re making sure that American is going to have what our customers need.”
Isom also said American has been in touch with Amazon about installing Leo on its aircraft, but he would not reveal the status of any discussions with the company.
The report caught the attention of Michael Nicolls, the Vice President of Starlink Engineering at SpaceX, who said:
“Only fly on airlines with good connectivity… and only one source of good connectivity at the moment…”
CEO Elon Musk replied to Nicolls by stating that American Airlines risks losing “a lot of customers if their connectivity solution fails.”
American Airlines will lose a lot of customers if their connectivity solution fails
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2025
There are over 8,000 Starlink satellites in orbit currently, offering internet coverage in over 150 countries and territories globally. SpaceX expands its array of satellites nearly every week with launches from California and Florida, aiming to offer internet access to everyone across the globe.
Currently, the company is focusing on expanding into new markets, such as Africa and Asia.
Tesla Cybercab spotted with interesting charging solution, stimulating discussion
Tesla confirms that it finally solved its 4680 battery’s dry cathode process
