Attack of the Killer Space Tomatoes! GotG26

Join Emma the Space Gardener in the Gardeners of the Galaxy time machine to learn about the time that NASA encouraged schoolchildren all over the world to grow killer mutant space tomatoes. That can’t be right, can it?

Gardeners of the Galaxy episode 26: Attack of the Killer Space Tomatoes!

Hello, and welcome to episode 26 of Gardeners of the Galaxy, the podcast for all of the sentient beings in the universe who have a passion for plants. I’m Emma the Space Gardener, and I will be your host as we explore gardening on Earth… and beyond!

In this episode, I’m going to be telling the story of that time NASA tried to kill schoolchildren with mutant space tomatoes. Or did they? More on that a little later.

The big space news, of course, is that Jeff Bezos is going to launch himself into space in his Blue Origin rocket on 20th July, which is the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The most important thing about this particular flight is that Bezos is taking Wally Funk with him. Wally is one of the Mercury 13, the women who passed all of the same astronaut tests as the Mercury 7. Since NASA wouldn’t send a woman into space, Wally has been waiting all this time for her turn. At 82, she will become the oldest person to fly in space. Wally has never given up on her dream, and that will be a flight to remember.

Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson should beat his billionaire rival into space. The first crewed mission for Virgin Galactic is due to launch on Sunday 11th July, so that should have happened when you hear this. This mission is named Tubular Bells: Part One, after the first album released by Virgin Records in 1973. With all the seats taken by Virgin Galactic employees, I wasn’t very excited about this launch