When Food Meets Space: Introducing Macie and the Magic Rocket Seeds
Inspired by real NASA research, this new Macieverse adventure shows how curiosity — and “rocket seeds” as Cody calls them — can help us imagine the future of growing food on Earth and beyond.
Today at 12:40 p.m. EST — the exact moment NASA’s Orion splashed down on Dec. 11, 2022 — I’m excited to reveal the next Macieverse adventure:
Macie and the Magic Rocket Seeds
And with it… a new character:
Meet Mr. Chip — inspired by my friend and collaborator Chip Carter, producer and host of Where The Food Comes From, which airs nationwide on RFD-TV, YouTube@WhereTheFoodComesFrom, and now in schools everywhere as part of National Agriculture in the Classroom.
In the first sketch from Macie and the Magic Rocket Seeds, you’ll see Mr. Chip handing Macie a special packet that sets everything in motion—leading her and her crew to learn that bravery isn’t about being fearless, but about being bold enough to explore.
This new chapter in the Macieverse was shaped by something important unfolding right now.
Chip and the WTFCF team have been filming at NASA to produce a special three-part episode about how we’re going to grow food in space, on the moon, and beyond, to premiere those shows in a nationwide school and broadcast television event to celebrate Artemis II and our return to the moon, which is scheduled to launch by April 2026.
And that mission became the spark for this book.
Grow a Space Garden on Earth? Farmer Lundyn Will Show Us in January!
To celebrate the book launch, we’re putting together a NASA-inspired “Rocket Seed” Planting Experiment with the real Farmer Lundyn, echoing NASA’s historic SEEDS project and benefitting Access to Fresh. We’ll be using the actual Park Seed Rutgers tomato seeds—part of the 12.5 million NASA sent into space in 1984, which orbited Earth for nearly six years before becoming one of the largest student-led science experiments in U.S. history.
More details to come.
Because growing food in space… and helping families access healthy food here on Earth… are connected in more ways than we think.
Here’s to curiosity, courage, and the kids who remind us to ask “What if?”
Be Bold, Explore!
Want to join the adventure? Reach out. We’re always growing room for more explorers!
Peter Contardo
