Growing fresh food in space
Five universities in Australia have partnered with 38 other organisations, including the US space agency NASA, to develop ideas for how to feed astronauts in space. Over the next 20 years, NASA is planning to send humans to the Moon and Mars. It wants to set up a permanent base on the Moon, which would mean having to keep astronauts happy and healthy with nutritious meals for long periods.
For now, most space food is pre-made like ready meals and sealed up in pouches. It’s also treated to make it last longer – for example, by being blasted with radiation (a type of energy) to kill harmful bacteria. However, scientists want astronauts to be able to grow fresh food in space, so they can replace their food stocks and have a healthier diet. It could also stop astronauts from getting bored with their diet. Getting bored is a problem because if they can’t face their meals, they might end up eating less.
A team at Australia’s University of Melbourne is using robots to grow food. These “farmbots” can plant seeds, keep the plants watered as they grow and harvest them when they are ready to eat. The bots can also measure things like temperature and growth. The farmbots have “E-noses”, which can detect the smells given off by the plants. Used with sensors in the soil, the technology can work out what the plants need. So far, leafy greens like basil, kale and lettuce have been the easiest to grow.
The team have also been testing the effect the foods might have on humans in space, by putting people in reclining chairs. This tricks the body into feeling it is experiencing the “weightless” condition that people get in space, where there’s little or no gravity. As they eat in this position, people’s physical and emotional responses are recorded.
The scientists want to make the plant-growing process automatic on space missions. Professor Sigfredo Fuentes told
The Guardian newspaper it would be like having “a smart fridge in space” where everything, from food to medicines, can be created from plants when needed.