There are not any grocery shops on Mars, and resupply from Earth is many months away. As a lot meals as future astronauts to the pink planet could pack for the journey, inevitably, they will must create some meals of their very own in an inhospitable setting. Whether or not they go the fanciful farm-to-table route with domestically sourced potatoes, like Matt Damon’s character did within the 2015 movie The Martian, stays to be seen. However they could have an much more science-forward possibility.
Creating protein out of skinny air.
That is the purpose of a partnership between the European Area Company and an organization known as Photo voltaic Meals, fashioned out of a scientific analysis program lower than a decade in the past. Photo voltaic Meals opened its first large-scale manufacturing facility in 2024.
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The undertaking, dubbed HOBI-WAN (for “hydrogen oxidizing micro organism in weightlessness as a supply of diet”) in a nod to the Star Wars films, is an outer area model of a course of that Photo voltaic Meals has been engaged on already right here on Earth. That effort includes rising micro organism in a vat with water, air and vitamins, after which drying out the micro organism, turning them right into a protein powder known as Solein for human consumption.
A key subsequent step will likely be to test Solein production on the Worldwide Area Station.
“Offering a sustainable and nutritious meals provide which meets the power necessities of the crew is without doubt one of the largest challenges in human spaceflight exploration past low Earth orbit,” ESA stated in a blog post. “In instances the place pre-deployed meals depots or steady resupply missions from Earth are impractical, resource-heavy, or technically unfeasible, cost-effective options are required.”
Solein begins moist and is dried by means of a course of that features centrifugal pressure and spray drying.
From micro organism to protein
The central purpose of the HOBI-WAN undertaking is to find out whether or not manufacturing of the protein-rich powder can happen in microgravity situations.
The method is advanced, however basically it’s going to be letting nature take its course.
“Photo voltaic Meals produces Solein by a course of known as gasoline fermentation,” Arttu Luukanen, the corporate’s senior vp of area and protection, tells me. The gasoline fermentation course of, he says, creates single-celled organisms that feed on hydrogen gasoline and use it to “sequester” carbon. From there, the micro organism are fed “minerals of life” utilizing ammonia as a nitrogen and hydrogen supply.
All of the substances go right into a bioreactor together with water and gases which can be pumped in “a bit like an enormous SodaStream,” Luukanen says. This supplies the micro organism with the right setting to breed, which they do in a short time. As soon as the micro organism have reproduced to a ample amount, they’re harvested. A few of it’s put aside to seed the following spherical within the bioreactor, whereas the remainder is totally dried and pasteurized.
These dried and pasteurized micro organism kind the Solein product, which consists of 78% protein, 6% fats (primarily unsaturated), 10% dietary fiber, 2% carbohydrates and 4% mineral vitamins. Luukanen says the powder may be flavored in any variety of methods and by itself imparts “a really delicate taste of umami.”
The HOBI-WAN undertaking will likely be heading to the Worldwide Area Station to see if Solein may be made in area.
How one can make protein in area
Solein manufacturing will likely be tougher to do in area. The weightless setting, plus the restricted cargo capability and lowered area for the bioreactor, add challenges that ESA and Photo voltaic Meals consider they will remedy.
“[The] principal distinction for the experiment onboard the ISS is the shortage of gravity, which suggests there is no such thing as a buoyancy, which alters vastly how liquids and gases behave,” Luukanen says. The opposite problem is restricted bodily area. Photo voltaic Meals makes use of bioreactors that may maintain 20,000 liters or extra, whereas the bioreactor heading to the ISS will likely be considerably smaller — a “few tens of liters.”
Additional steps will likely be required for gasoline security, course of monitoring, high quality assurance and maintainability, as there will not be bioprocess engineers on board to babysit the method. The product made in area additionally will not be dried right into a powder, not less than not on the ISS. Within the occasion of a leak, having a cloud of powder floating round in a zero-gravity setting would not be preferrred.
So in area, Solein will possible be served up as a paste.
Soleil in its powder kind right here on Earth. The area model will likely be extra of a paste.
Recycling in area
The final huge issue is the substances. They will must be altered to account for the shortage of sources obtainable in a long-term area flight. Recycling has lengthy been a key part of residing in area, and that’ll be true for Solein manufacturing.
Which means utilizing CO2 from crew respiration and recycling the hydrogen gasoline made when the ISS makes use of electrolysis to turn water into oxygen for the crew. On Earth, making Solein requires numerous water.
There can even be substitutions, reminiscent of utilizing urea as a substitute of ammonia, since ammonia could be harmful if there have been an accident. However that does not imply that astronauts will likely be utilizing urine like they do for “recycled coffee.”
“On Earth, we use ammonia, however for the ESA undertaking, we have determined to make use of artificial urea as a substitute, primarily as a result of it’s not doubtlessly hazardous like ammonia is that if there’s a spill,” Luukanen says. “Recovering the urea from urine is in precept potential, however given the small portion of urea wanted, it might not make sense, particularly if the urea extraction from urine includes advanced and heavy gear.”
Ought to the HOBI-WAN undertaking achieve success, it’s going to assist unlock long-term area exploration for people, together with a possible journey to Mars.
Feeding astronauts on long-duration missions
A visit to Mars is a a lot greater time dedication than an tour to the moon. NASA’s upcoming Artemis II mission will see astronauts circle the moon for the primary time in practically half a century, however the journey will final solely 10 days. When it comes to meals, it is not that huge a deal. However Mars — eyed by area businesses and Elon Musk alike — is way, a lot farther away, and travel times will stretch to months and months. Heading to the pink planet, astronauts might want to pack greater than a picnic.
Ought to the Solein undertaking show profitable, the quantity of meals it generates might theoretically feed a group of astronauts for a whole bunch of days whereas utilizing a lot much less cargo area than today’s space meals. Luukanen says that, because the undertaking is being designed, the one factor astronauts would wish to hold could be mineral salts, they usually would not want that a lot.
“Even for a five-[person] crew, 900-day mission to Mars, we’re speaking of [less than]100 kilograms of mineral salts,” he says.
Different applied sciences may additionally assist recycle nitrogen and minerals, which might enable astronauts to reuse these supplies onsite, additional extending meals provide.
Utilizing the protein powder, astronauts might make all types of meals with the proper extra substances. Luukanen says Photo voltaic Meals has developed recipes starting from ice cream to cream cheese ravioli. A few of them had been showcased throughout NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge, which highlighted strategies for long-term meals options, together with a no-light food-growing technique known as Nolux and a closed ecosystem that may autonomously develop meals and preserve bugs to be used in an astronaut’s eating regimen.
It won’t be what you’d anticipate from a Michelin-starred restaurant and even your neighborhood deli, however it’ll possible be higher than a gentle eating regimen of Mars-grown baked potatoes.
