NASA one step closer to redefining what we think of as food

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We’re sneaking up to the era of future foods.

We don’t mean new alternatives to Cheetos, Funyuns, or some other processed snack. We’re talking about developing truly revolutionary, nutritional, and tasty foods that require minimal resources and minimal space, and still fulfill the dietary needs of space travelers or Earth-bound people suffering from famine or nutritional deficiencies.

 NASA has announced 11 finalists in Phase 2 of the Deep Space Food Challenge, a competition to find unique ways to feed astronauts on extended space missions, such as voyages to Mars and beyond. The Challenge, which is co-sponsored by Methuselah Foundation, invited innovators to design, build, and test new ways to sustain astronauts during months- or years-long space missions.

 "As we prepare for long-duration human spaceflight, food is essential not only for nutrition, but also familiarity and comfort on long voyages and in isolated environments," said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate in an agency statement. "The creativity of innovators is allowing us to tackle this important yet complex challenge in new and interesting ways."

 Dozens of teams submitted ideas to develop new technologies to produce safe, healthy, and appetizing foods for astronauts while using minimal resources and creating little waste.

 The finalists proposed systems that produce food using carbon dioxide and fungal proteins, closed-looped systems to grow and sustain greens and vegetables, and several other ideas that promise to make food that is nutritional and can be tasty.

 Eight U.S. organizations were named finalists:

  • InFynity of Chicago uses a fungi protein to prepare nutritious and delicious foods.

  • Nolux of Riverside, California, produces plant- and fungal-based food using artificial photosynthesis.

  • Mu Mycology of Hillsboro, Oregon, uses a closed-loop cultivation system to produce edible mushrooms.

  • Kernel Deltech USA of Cape Canaveral, Florida, uses continuous cultivation to produce inactivated fungal biomass.

  • Interstellar Lab of Merritt Island, Florida, produces fresh microgreens, vegetables, mushrooms, and insects to provide micronutrients.

  • Far Out Foods of St. Paul, Minnesota, uses a nearly closed-loop system to produce mushrooms and hydroponic vegetables.

  • SATED of Boulder, Colorado, prepares a variety of well-known foods from long-shelf-life ingredients.

  • Air Company of Brooklyn, New York, combines carbon dioxide exhaled by astronauts with hydrogen made with water electrolysis to produce alcohol that is fed to an edible yeast to make proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.

 Three international finalist teams were also selected:

  • Enigma of the Cosmos of Melbourne, Australia, created a food production system with an adaptive growing platform that could increase the efficiency by at least 40%.

  • Solar Foods of Lappeenranta, Finland, uses gas fermentation to produce single-cell proteins that can be used as an ingredient in a variety of foods.

  • Mycorena of Gothenburg, Sweden, developed a circular production system using microalgae and fungi to produce a microprotein using minimal resources.

 In April, up to five of the U.S. teams will be recognized as Phase 2 Challenge winners and will be awarded $150,000 each.  Up to three top scoring international teams will also be recognized.

 We are proud to be part of the Deep Space Food Challenge. While the mission is to find ways to sustain space travelers, we are most excited by the implications for people who are closer to home – right here on Earth.

 A significant barrier to extending human life for many is the lack of reliable access to good nutrition. Technologies used to nourish space travelers may also provide answers for people buffeted by food insecurity.

 We eagerly await the next phase in the Deep Space Food Challenge in April.