Aisha Bowe Citizen Astronaut and Former NASA Aerospace Engineer and CEO of LINGO Presents Space Farming Study That Could Inform How We Eat in Space

SYDNEY, Sept. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- When citizen astronaut and entrepreneur Aisha Bowe flew aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard (NS) 31 mission, she carried the question of how humans might one day grow food off-planet, and through this query, created a rare opportunity to design and operate world-class research in space. The mission offers a model for how meaningful science can be advanced when private individuals, international space agencies, and research institutions work together. From this research, the team has produced a peer-reviewed paper on the molecular and physiological response that sweet potatoes and chickpeas have under microgravity. Aisha will present the work at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney, Australia, on October 1, 2025.

As a decorated former NASA aerospace engineer, Bowe, serving as a Science Payload Operator, worked with Blue Origin and university partners to champion the experiment's inclusion on the flight. The mission's intent was clear: to corroborate and extend NASA's previous plant biology research, archived in the NASA GeneLab, by applying those methods to food crops. The students at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) prepared and analyzed flown samples, gaining a chance to contribute to real space biology research.

What began with a handful of sweet potatoes and chickpeas in flight, is ultimately about something far bigger: the survival of humans beyond Earth. By helping carry this research from idea to orbit to the international stage, Aisha has shown that the future of space exploration isn't just about reaching new worlds, it's about learning how to live on them once we get there.

"This mission shows what's possible when citizen astronauts work alongside scientists and students to deliver meaningful research," Bowe said. "It's not the typical path, but that's exactly why it matters. We're opening doors to science in space that were closed before."

About Aisha Bowe

Aisha Bowe is a former NASA aerospace engineer, entrepreneur, and citizen astronaut who flew aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard NS-31 mission. She has been honored with the NASA Engineering Honor Award, the NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal, and numerous other distinctions. She is the founder and CEO of STEMBoard, an Inc. 5000-recognized technology company, and the creator of LINGO, a hands-on coding kit that has inspired thousands of students worldwide. She is committed to advancing access to STEM and pushing the boundaries of what's possible in space and on Earth.

For more information:

Caron Veazey
Something In Common
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SOURCE LINGO