NASA, SpaceX launch rocket carrying tomato seeds to ISS

NASA and SpaceX launched a rocket carrying a fresh haul of supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Saturday.

The bounty of supplies on board includes a pair of new solar arrays for the space station, dwarf tomato seeds and a range of science experiments, reports CNN.

There will also be treats for the astronauts on the space station, like ice cream and spicy green beans, cranberry apple desserts, pumpkin pie and candy corn.

The solar arrays will be installed outside the floating laboratory during spacewalks scheduled for November 29 and December 3. They will give the space station a power boost.

The cargo on board includes a number of health-related items, such as the Moon Microscope kit. The portable handheld microscope will allow astronauts to collect and send images of blood samples to flight surgeons on the ground for diagnostics and treatment.

SpaceX has launched more than two dozen resupply missions to the space station over the past decade as part of a multibillion-dollar deal with NASA. This launch comes amid SpaceX’s busiest year to date, with more than 50 operations so far, including two astronaut missions.