Printing space food

While we may like to complain about how terrible aeroplane food is, spare a thought for astronauts who have to eat space food for months on end. The lack of gravity limits what foods are suitable for space travel, so things that crumble, like sandwiches and cakes, are out of the question. Even carbonated drinks are a no-no - apparently they can produce a charming phenomenon called ‘wet burping’.

As astronauts journey deeper and deeper into space, space agencies like NASA are finding they need to modify life support systems, including how to feed the crew. NASA is teaming up with a Texan company to study the feasibility of using additive manufacturing, better known as 3D printing, to ensure space crews have enough to eat on long space voyages.

NASA has awarded a Small Business Innovation Research Phase I contract to Systems and Materials Research Consultancy (SMRC) to conduct a study into the development of a 3D printed food system for space missions of long durations.

NASA’s Advanced Food Technology program aims to develop methods and foods that meet acceptability, variety and nutritional stability requirements. These foods must also use as little of the crew’s time and spacecraft resources to store, prepare and clean up after or dispose of.

A long-duration mission such as a voyage to Mars would require foods with a five-year shelf life. Because refrigeration and freezing require significant spacecraft resources, current NASA food offerings consist of individually prepackaged shelf-stable foods.

The six-month, US$125,000 Phase I study of 3D food printing aims to determine the technology’s ability to enable nutrient stability and provide a variety of foods from shelf-stable ingredients, while minimising crew time and waste.

SMRC’s proposal was reportedly selected by NASA as the research team, subcontractors and consultants include premier food rheology and flavour expertise that is required for a novel product development system.

NASA is also considering 3D printing for other space travel applications, from ‘printing’ food to tools - and even entire spacecraft.