NASA to use deep space food production for future astronauts
NASA is planning long-duration crewed space expeditions, and an ample food supply would be crucial to success. To this end, the agency is sponsoring a Deep Space Food Challenge contest that encourages the development of technologies that can meet the food requirements of astronauts. Now, New York-based Air Company has come up with an innovative system that has grabbed everyone's attention. Check it out.
Astronauts usually consume pre-packaged meals
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have survived mostly on packaged meals for the past two decades. Re-supply missions, however, take some fresh produce to the crew regularly. The crew members have tried growing a couple of vegetables in orbit, including lettuce, chili peppers, kale, and cabbage as per NASA. Recently, the Crew-5 astronauts who returned from ISS in March experimented with tomatoes.
What's the Deep Space Food Challenge about?
With the Deep Space Food Challenge, NASA is looking for food production technologies that require "minimal resources and produce minimal waste." This becomes necessary considering that the space agency is planning on sending longer-duration crewed missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
The company can use exhaled carbon dioxide to grow yeast
Now, the Air Company of Brooklyn has come up with a way of converting carbon dioxide exhaled by astronauts during flight to grow yeast-based nutrients for protein shakes, which would nourish astronauts on deep-space missions in the future. The Deep Space Food Challenge has prompted the company to modify this carbon-conversion technique to produce edible proteins, fats, and carbohydrates using the same system.
How does the system work?
Essentially, what the system does is that it takes the carbon dioxide gas exhaled by astronauts and combines it with hydrogen, which has been extracted from water by electrolysis. The resulting mixture is then fed into a small amount of yeast in order to produce a sustainable supply of single-celled proteins and other nutrients as well.
The drink has a similar consistency to whey protein shake
Talking about the consistency of the single-cell protein drink developed by the company, it's alike to a whey protein shake. The company's co-founder Stafford Sheehan compares the flavor of the protein drink to that of seitan, a tofu-like dish made from wheat gluten. This dish finds its roots in East Asian cuisine and has been widely adopted by vegetarians as a meat substitute.
The company won $750,000 in the contest's second round
In addition to protein drinks, the same technique can be employed to create more carbohydrate-rich alternatives for bread, pasta, and tortillas. Owing to its technology, the company became one of the eight winners announced by NASA in the second phase of the Deep Space Food Challenge. They won prize money of $750,000. The final round of this competition will be held soon.
The final phase of the contest will be conducted soon
The winner of the final round of the contest will be awarded a sum of $1.5 million from NASA. The developments made in space-based food technology will have significant implications for Earth as well. It will open "new avenues for food production around the world, especially in extreme environments, resource-scarce regions, and in regions where disasters disrupt critical infrastructure," said the space agency.
