Outer space has incredible views but the food could use some work.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a long and storied history of developing food for space travel. In the early days, astronauts ate and drank liquids and pastes out of tubes on short-duration flights. Over the last half-century, space menus have changed (although astronauts still drink Tang), featuring fresh vegetables and more Earth-like meals, but eating in space is still a challenge.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an entire laboratory at Johnson Space Center, the Space Food Systems Laboratory<\/a>, which is responsible for the development of spaceflight food, packaging, hardware, and more. Finding the right foods is critical to ensuring astronauts receive sufficient nutrition, but it also needs to be appetizing and enjoyable to consume. Food is about more than survival, eating is one of life\u2019s great pleasures and it has a big impact on psychological well-being.<\/p>\n In low-Earth orbit, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) rely on regular resupply missions to deliver food every couple of months, but for long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, we\u2019re going to need other solutions. One of the biggest challenges for deep space missions is figuring out how to carry or grow enough food to keep astronauts alive.<\/p>\n Now, the European Space Agency (ESA) is testing a powdered protein called Solein that can be manufactured with just a few starting ingredients, including urea from astronaut urine.<\/p>\n How the ESA and Solar Foods are making astronaut food out of air and urine<\/p>\n Billed as \u201cprotein out of thin air,\u201d Solein is made by Finnish food technology company Solar Foods. Unlike the plant and animal proteins we\u2019re familiar with, this is a microbial protein made by growing an edible single-celled microbe through fermentation.<\/p>\n On Earth, the microbe is fed carbon dioxide, oxygen, and hydrogen and it transforms those gases into proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and vitamins, including all nine essential amino acids. After a growth period, the microbes are harvested and dried to create a protein powder.<\/p>\n The ESA is partnering with Solar Foods on the creation of HOBI-WAN (Hydrogen Oxidizing Bacteria in Weightlessness As a source of Nutrition), an experimental protein fermentation device intended for use in space. The ability to grow protein aboard a spacecraft, using readily available gases would be crucial for missions where resupply missions aren\u2019t feasible.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project aims at developing a key resource which will allow us to improve human spaceflight\u2019s autonomy, resilience and also the well-being of our astronauts,\u201d ESA\u2019s Chief exploration scientist Angelique Van Ombergen explained in a Nov. 3 statement<\/a>. \u201cFor human beings to be able to implement long duration missions on the Moon, or even one day, to go to Mars, will require innovative and sustainable solutions to be able to survive with limited supplies. With this project, we the European Space Agency is developing a key capability for the future of space exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n For HOBI-WAN, Solar Foods will spend the next eight months working in concert with the prime contractor, OHB System AG, to develop the technology to test Solein production aboard the ISS. Their existing processes need to be converted into a compact and autonomous system capable of fitting ina \u00a0locker aboard the station.<\/p>\n Once in orbit, a bioreactor housing a bacterial culture will be fed gaseous hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, supplied from storage tanks on the ship. Future versions of the bioreactor could even use recycled gases from the crew. Astronauts will also supply a little bit of nitrogen necessary for the fermentation process. In space they\u2019ll use urea, the main nitrogen-containing compound found in the urine of mammals.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also worth noting that the applications go beyond space exploration. Solein is also a potential future food source right here on Earth, providing protein and other nutrients without using farm land or additional resources. And you can rest easy, here on Earth they use ammonia instead of urea.<\/p>\n