Budweiser has confirmed its plans to send barley seeds to the International Space Station early next month. The company intends to study how the seeds would react in a unique "microgravity environment."
Budweiser Joins Forces With CASIS And Space Tango
Back in March at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, Budweiser revealed its future plans to become the first beer company to brew beer on Mars. In order to make this happen, the company has joined forces with the Center for Advancement of Science in Space and Space Tango.
CASIS is responsible for managing the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory while Space Tango is a private payload development company that runs two research facilities in the National Lab.
"Budweiser is always pushing the boundaries of innovation and we are inspired by the collective American Dream to get to Mars," said Ricardo Marques, Budweiser's vice president. "We are excited to begin our research to brew beer for the red planet."
Budweiser To Send Barley Seeds Into Space
Together, the team plans to send 20 barley seeds on a SpaceX CRS-13 rocket that will launch on Dec. 4 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The barley seeds will then arrive at the International Space Station, where they will be used in two experiments.
Two Experiments
The first experiment will focus on how barley seeds would react when they are exposed to extended microgravity while the second experiment will study how the seeds would grow in zero gravity.
The barley seeds, which are one of the four main ingredients of Budweiser's beer, will be kept in the space station for around 30 days. After that, they will be brought back to Earth where they will be analyzed.
According to Budweiser, the experiments will offer new insights on how to make beer effectively on the red planet. They could also provide valuable information on barley production on Earth.
Beer In Space
One of the major challenges humans will face when it comes to brewing beer on Mars, according to retired astronaut Clayton Anderson, is the lack of gravity. He said that, unlike on Earth, when a person pops open a Budweiser on Mars, the pressure inside the bottle would be notably higher and one would likely need to clean everything.
Aside from the gravity, another challenge would be how to gain access to another main ingredient for beer, which is water.
