Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com5, March 19 (Xinhua)-- in order to solve the food problem for astronauts during long-term missions, NASA launched a space food challenge competition in January 2021, asking contestants to invent new ways to develop sustainable food for future space missions, according to an article published by MIT Technology Review.

Participating companies must demonstrate a system that can run for three years and provide food for four astronauts for future space missions, but they do not need to provide a full diet for astronauts, they just need to create all kinds of nutritious food for astronauts.

Stafford Sheehan, co-founder and chief technology officer of Air Company, a New York-based airline, says they have designed a system that uses carbon dioxide emitted by astronauts in space to produce alcohol, which can then be used to grow edible food. The company has successfully extracted fuel and ethanol for aircraft from carbon dioxide.

▲ source Air Company, an airline founded by Stafford Sheehan and Gregory Constantine, is exploring converting carbon dioxide into yeast fuel. Sheehan says the alcohol produced by this process can be fed to yeast to produce "edible food." They essentially created a protein milkshake that was described as similar to a milkshake made from vegetarian gluten, a vegetarian meat substitute.

For astronauts in space, the system will continue to ferment to provide food.

Interstellar Labs (Interstellar Lab), based in Florida, is another American company that has reached the second phase of the finals, and they have taken a different approach. Its system, called NUCLEUS, is a set of modular small toaster-sized capsules. Each is independent and has its own humidity, temperature and watering system. This makes it possible to cultivate different vegetables and even insects, such as black water flies, which are often considered a promising source of protein so that astronauts can easily grow their own food in space.

Barbara Belvisi, the company's founder and chief executive, says they are bringing part of the earth's ecosystem into space so that they can grow mushrooms, insects and miniature vegetables at the same time.

▲ Touyuan Star Lab, the BioPod design of Star Lab does not require external water sources. Sweden-based Mycorena is one of three companies that have entered the international finals. Its AFCiS system produces a protein called fungal protein by fungal fermentation to replace animal or plant sources. The fungal protein is very high in protein, up to 60%, and is rich in fiber, vitamins and nutrients, while low in fat and sugar, said Kristina Karlsson, the company's head of research and development.

Nutritious fungal proteins produced by ▲ Mycorena's AFCiS system can also form 3D print shapes as part of the second phase of the Space Food Challenge Competition, which was reduced to 11 teams in January 2023, of which eight US teams received funding of $20,000 each (CTOnews.com Note: about RMB 141000 currently), and three other international teams were also recognized. On May 19, NASA will announce the team entering the final phase of the competition, and after more detailed testing of their proposals, a small number of winners will be announced in April 2024.

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