SENATE MEMORIAL 32

55th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2022

INTRODUCED BY

Leo Jaramillo

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING JACOB TORRES FOR HIS MISSION TO TAKE NEW MEXICO CHILE INTO SPACE AND TO THE MOON AND MARS.

     WHEREAS, Jacob Torres, an Espanola native, is launching New Mexico chile into outer space; and

     WHEREAS, Jacob works for the space crop production team at the national aeronautics and space administration at the Kennedy space center in Florida; and

     WHEREAS, a proud alumnus of McCurdy charter school and a graduate of northern New Mexico college, New Mexico state university and Purdue university, Jacob started working at the national aeronautics and space administration as an intern in 2018; and

     WHEREAS, eventually, Jacob earned a full-time position as an engineer and plant scientist under a laboratory support services and operations contract; and

     WHEREAS, the space crop production team's mission is to supplement astronauts' diets with fresh crops in space; and

     WHEREAS, there are two plant growth systems on the international space station: the vegetable production system and advanced plant habitat 04; and

     WHEREAS, the advanced plant habitat 04 experiment was chosen to demonstrate the capabilities of the advanced plant habitat, and after testing, New Mexico chile was found to be a good crop for the first fruiting experiment; and

     WHEREAS, working to include New Mexico and its culture, the team partnered with the New Mexico state university chile pepper institute and discovered that the NUMEX Espanola improved chile pepper grew the best in a plant habitat environment; and

     WHEREAS, the national aeronautics and space administration followed the traditions of New Mexico chile as closely as possible with the advice of Jacob, their local chile expert, and spelled chile with an "e" in all publications; and

     WHEREAS, the team harvested green and then red chile during the experiment, and the "Hatchstronauts" asked the state question — red or green? — in space; and

     WHEREAS, in an effort to include the community in the "space chile" adventure, Jacob, Fidel Martinez and David Hanson started and funded an activity called the "space chile grow a pepper plant challenge" that served as a rapid response educational activity during the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and provided a way for educators, students and regular individuals to stay engaged during the shutdown; and

     WHEREAS, the space chile grow a pepper plant challenge is now a national aeronautics and space administration-funded activity under Jacob's leadership for student "space farmers" around the world, including in New Mexico, who grow Martinez Chimayo chile in the students' homes or classrooms for science; and

     WHEREAS, Jacob does student outreach in the evenings and during free time, including virtually broadcasting rocket launches in zoom chats with classrooms of kids across New Mexico, providing virtual tours of the laboratory at the Kennedy space center and answering questions; and

     WHEREAS, following the teaching of his grandfather, Juan Valencia, Jacob dedicates ten percent of his time to helping the next generation succeed; and

     WHEREAS, the space chile grow a pepper plant challenge worked with student artists from the Espanola valley to create the mission badge for advanced plant habitat 04, with the art printed by astronaut Megan McArthur on the international space station, representing space chile around the world; and

     WHEREAS, Jacob's teammates on the national aeronautics and space administration science team, including Matthew Romeyn, Lashelle Spencer, Nicole Dufour, Dr. Ray Wheeler, Oscar Monje, Jeff Richards and Lucie Poulete, have fully embraced and supported Jacob and fostered the growing of New Mexico chile in space;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that Jacob Torres be recognized for his mission to take New Mexico chile into space and to the moon and mars; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to Jacob Torres, Fidel Martinez, David Hanson, Matthew Romeyn, Lashelle Spencer, Nicole Dufour, Dr. Ray Wheeler, Oscar Monje, Jeff Richards and Lucie Poulete.

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