NASA Offers $500K for Discovery of Best 'Easy-to-Prep' Space Food Technoology to Feed Astronauts in Deep Space

NASA is on the lookout for Space food technologies that could more efficiently feed astronauts in space with fresh and easy to prep space food. As Fox News reports, NASA and two other partners have offered competing international teams with a total of $500,000 reward for this food venture.

NASA Partners with Agencies to Launch Revolutionary Food Competition

NASA has partnered with Canadian Space Agency and the Privy Council Office for the Deep Space Food Challenge. As noted in Deep Space Food Challenge's official website, the mission of the international competition is to pursue novel and game-changing food innovations that would have "minimal inputs and maximize safe, nutritious, and palatable food outputs for long-duration space missions, and which have potential to benefit people on Earth."

The competition aims to produce a brand-new technology that would be able to serve fresh yet convenient food to astroanauts. Floating in space is definitely going to burn enough calories and a healthy space snack would be a great idea to ensure the safety of astronauts and the success of missions. It is yet to undergo the first phase of the competition and has already opened its registration to different delegates internationally.

According to Food & Wine, NASA is seeking for more advanced space technologies that produce easy-to-prepare food whilst maintaining its freshness. "Basically, they're looking for easy-to-prep space food that hasn't been freeze dried and isn't served in a little foil pouch", the blog writes.

Details of the NASA Deep Space Food Challenge: Criteria, Reward, Timeline

The Details of the Food challenge has been published in their official website along with the rewards and the target date of the Phase 1 competition. The challenge aims to select winners for food technologies using the following criteria:

• Help fill food gaps for a three-year round-trip mission with no resupply

• Feed a crew of four (4) astronauts

• Improve the accessibility of food on Earth, in particular, via production directly in urban centers and in remote and harsh environments

• Achieve the greatest amount of food output with minimal inputs and minimal waste

• Create a variety of palatable, nutritious, and safe foods that requires little processing time for crew members

NASA will be choosing the top 20 teams with the best food technologies and will receive $25,000 USD each. Moreover, they will be invited to move on to the Phase 2 of the competition.

The winners of the challenge will be the top 10 international winning teams from the Phase 2 round of the challenge. Registration for Phase 1 of the Food Challenge will end on May 28 and the Phase 1 winners will be announced on September. The challenge will soon bear fruit to a more efficient technology that would change space diet in history.

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Written by Nikki D