KEY POINTS
- Viral 'space potato' sparks alarm before astronaut explains experiment
- Don Pettit grows potato aboard ISS during off-duty research
- Experiment highlights importance of food production for future space missions
At first glance, it looked like a Chestburster, a baby Xenomorph, or something that had no business floating anywhere near a spacecraft. A purple, tentacled 'egg' drifting in microgravity sent social media into a familiar spiral, with some viewers jokingly urging NASA to 'kill it with fire'.
