NASA and the Canadian Space Agency have coordinated to open Phase 2 of the Deep Space Food Challenge, targeted at developing novel food production system innovations for long-duration deep area objectives. Credit: NASA
” Feeding astronauts over extended periods within the restraints of area travel will need ingenious services,” stated Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorate at the firms head office in Washington. “Pushing the boundaries of food technology will keep future explorers healthy and might even assist feed individuals here in your home.”
In October 2021, Phase 1 of the difficulty culminated as NASA granted 18 groups an overall of $450,000 for their principles for ingenious food production technology that produces safe, acceptable, palatable, nutritious foodstuff that are stable and high quality, while lessening required resource inputs. NASA and the Canadian Space Agency jointly acknowledged 10 international groups for their winning submissions. NASAs supporting partner of the obstacle, the Methuselah Foundation, sponsored two $25,000 awards to worldwide teams for their exceptional innovation. The Canadian Space Agency granted 10 teams $30,000 CAD each to their winning groups.
NASA now invites both new and existing groups to get in Phase 2, which will need teams to build and demonstrate prototypes of their styles and produce food for judging. Interested individuals from the United States can contend in Phase 2 for part of a prize bag up to $1 million.
” We are excited to continue working together with the Canadian Space Agency to conduct the next phase of this difficulty and recognize solutions from across the globe,” said Reuter.
The Competition
The Deep Space Food Challenge asks rivals to develop a food production technology, system, or method that might possibly be integrated into a total food system to sustain a team of 4 on a three-year deep space mission. Whatever needed to keep, provide and prepare food to the team, consisting of production, processing, transportation, intake, and disposal of waste must be considered. Proposed technologies such as plant development systems, manufactured food, and ready-to-eat options combined might supply the future teams with a variety of choices that would supply the required day-to-day nutrition.
Teams proposed innovations to produce ready-to-eat foods such as bread, as well as dehydrated powders that might be processed into food products. Other technologies included cultivated fungis and plants or crafted food such as cultured meat cells, all of which might be grown or produced by the team on deep space missions.
All groups involved in Phase 1 of the obstacle met the registration requirements to go into Phase 2. The Canadian Space Agency is hosting a parallel competitors with a different application and judging procedure, as well as its own prize bag, for participating Canadian teams.
The Deep Space Food Challenge is a NASA Centennial Challenge. Centennial Challenges belong to the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program within NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorate at the firms Headquarters in Washington and are handled at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Subject professionals at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston and NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida support the competition. NASA, in collaboration with the Methuselah Foundation, manages the U.S. and international Deep Space Food Challenge competitors.
Join the Deep Space Food Challenge to help bring innovative food production innovations to space and here on Earth.
As NASA prepares to send out astronauts further into the cosmos than ever previously, the company aims to update production of a vital fuel source: food. Offering future explorers the innovation to produce nutritious, yummy, and pleasing meals on long-duration area objectives will provide them the energy needed to discover the terrific unidentified.
In coordination with the Canadian Space Agency, NASA is calling on the public to assist develop sustainable and innovative food production innovations or systems that need very little resources and produce minimal waste. Called the Deep Space Food Challenge, the competition contacts teams to develop, construct, and demonstrate models of food production innovations that offer concrete nutritional items– or food.
With time, food loses its nutritional worth. That suggests for a multi-year objective to Mars, bringing along pre-packaged food will not satisfy all the requirements for keeping astronaut health. Additionally, food insecurity is a significant, persistent problem in the world in both rural and urban communities. Disasters that interrupt supply chains even more worsen food lacks. Developing innovative and compact advanced food system services through efforts such as the Deep Space Food Challenge might have applications in house and community-based regional food production, offering brand-new options for humanitarian actions to floods and dry spells, and new innovations for quick release following disasters.
Developing innovative and compact advanced food system solutions through efforts such as the Deep Space Food Challenge could have applications in home and community-based regional food production, supplying brand-new options for humanitarian reactions to droughts and floods, and new innovations for rapid implementation following disasters.
In October 2021, Phase 1 of the difficulty culminated as NASA awarded 18 groups a total of $450,000 for their principles for innovative food production innovation that produces safe, appropriate, palatable, nutritious food items that are stable and high quality, while minimizing necessary resource inputs. The Deep Space Food Challenge asks competitors to create a food production innovation, system, or method that might potentially be integrated into a total food system to sustain a team of 4 on a three-year deep space objective. Teams proposed innovations to produce ready-to-eat foods such as bread, as well as dehydrated powders that might be processed into food items. The Deep Space Food Challenge is a NASA Centennial Challenge.