Be part of the Deep Area Meals Problem to assist convey progressive meals manufacturing applied sciences to area and right here on Earth.
As NASA prepares to ship astronauts additional into the cosmos than ever earlier than, the company goals to improve manufacturing of a crucial gasoline supply: meals. Giving future explorers the know-how to provide nutritious, tasty, and satisfying meals on long-duration area missions will give them the vitality required to uncover the good unknown.
In coordination with the Canadian Area Company, NASA is asking on the general public to assist develop progressive and sustainable meals manufacturing applied sciences or programs that require minimal assets and produce minimal waste. Dubbed the Deep Area Meals Problem, the competitors calls on groups to design, construct, and reveal prototypes of meals manufacturing applied sciences that present tangible dietary merchandise – or meals.
Over time, meals loses its dietary worth. Which means for a multi-year mission to Mars, bringing alongside pre-packaged meals won't meet all of the wants for sustaining astronaut well being. Moreover, meals insecurity is a major, continual drawback on Earth in each city and rural communities. Disasters that disrupt provide chains additional worsen meals shortages. Growing compact and progressive superior meals system options via initiatives such because the Deep Area Meals Problem might have purposes in dwelling and community-based native meals manufacturing, offering new options for humanitarian responses to floods and droughts, and new applied sciences for speedy deployment following disasters.
NASA and the Canadian Area Company have coordinated to open Section 2 of the Deep Area Meals Problem, focused at creating novel meals manufacturing system applied sciences for long-duration deep area missions. Credit score: NASA
“Feeding astronauts over lengthy durations throughout the constraints of area journey would require progressive options,” stated Jim Reuter, affiliate administrator for NASA’s Area Expertise Mission Directorate on the company’s headquarters in Washington. “Pushing the boundaries of meals know-how will hold future explorers wholesome and will even assist feed individuals right here at dwelling.”
In October 2021, Section 1 of the problem culminated as NASA awarded 18 groups a complete of $450,000 for his or her ideas for progressive meals manufacturing know-how that produces protected, acceptable, palatable, nutritious meals merchandise which are steady and top quality, whereas minimizing needed useful resource inputs. NASA and the Canadian Area Company collectively acknowledged 10 worldwide groups for his or her profitable submissions. NASA’s supporting companion of the problem, the Methuselah Basis, sponsored two $25,000 awards to worldwide groups for his or her excellent innovation. The Canadian Area Company awarded 10 groups $30,000 CAD every to their profitable groups.
NASA now invitations each new and current groups to enter Section 2, which would require groups to construct and reveal prototypes of their designs and produce meals for judging. members from america can compete in Section 2 for a part of a prize purse as much as $1 million.
“We're excited to proceed collaborating with the Canadian Area Company to conduct the following section of this problem and determine options from throughout the globe,” stated Reuter.
The Competitors
The Deep Area Meals Problem asks opponents to create a meals manufacturing know-how, system, or strategy that might doubtlessly be built-in into a whole meals system to maintain a crew of 4 on a three-year deep area mission. The whole lot wanted to retailer, put together and ship meals to the crew, together with manufacturing, processing, transport, consumption, and disposal of waste needs to be thought of. Proposed applied sciences akin to plant progress programs, manufactured meals merchandise, and ready-to-eat options mixed might present the longer term crews with quite a lot of choices that would offer the wanted day by day vitamin.
In Section 1, NASA’s judges grouped U.S. submissions based mostly on the meals they envisioned producing. Among the many designs have been quite a lot of programs that ranged from complicated to quite simple. Groups proposed applied sciences to provide ready-to-eat meals akin to bread, in addition to dehydrated powders that may very well be processed into meals merchandise. Different applied sciences concerned cultivated crops and fungi or engineered meals akin to cultured meat cells, all of which may very well be grown or produced by the crew on deep area missions. Particulars in regards to the profitable submissions and groups could be discovered on the problem web site.
All groups concerned in Section 1 of the problem met the registration necessities to enter Section 2. New groups are welcomed and extremely inspired to take part after offering the required registration data, due by February 28. members from america can compete for a part of a prize purse of as much as $1 million from NASA. The Canadian Area Company is internet hosting a parallel competitors with a separate software and judging course of, in addition to its personal prize purse, for collaborating Canadian groups. Qualifying groups from different international locations might compete however won't be eligible for financial prizes.
The Deep Area Meals Problem is a NASA Centennial Problem. Centennial Challenges are a part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program inside NASA’s Area Expertise Mission Directorate on the company’s Headquarters in Washington and are managed at NASA’s Marshall Area Flight Heart in Huntsville, Alabama. Subject material consultants at NASA’s Johnson Area Heart in Houston and NASA’s Kennedy Area Heart in Florida help the competitors. NASA, in partnership with the Methuselah Basis, manages the U.S. and worldwide Deep Area Meals Problem competitors.
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