The Deep Space Food Challenge is an international competition where NASA offers prize purse awards to U.S. teams and recognition to international teams. Teams are invited to create novel and game-changing food technologies or systems that require minimal inputs and maximize safe, nutritious, and palatable food outputs for long-duration space missions, and which have potential to benefit people on Earth.
Scientists worldwide study food, vital for space expeditions. Laboratories prioritize groundbreaking project by Methuselah Foundation, linked to NASA's Centennial Challenges Program. To better not only Earth, but also space The innovations in food technology have far-reaching implications, especially for space exploration. The collaboration between laboratories and the Methuselah Foundation is a significant milestone in advancing these crucial research efforts.
How Did the Challenge Work?
Teams from around the world are invited to participate in the Deep Space Food Challenge by developing novel and game-changing food technologies. These technologies should be capable of sustaining astronauts on extended space missions, where traditional food sources may be limited. The challenge aims to push the boundaries of food science and technology to ensure the well-being of astronauts during their missions.
Team NoLux Wins $250,000
A journey that started with an article in Food Nature led to an all academic team from UC Riverside Plant Transformation Research Center investing years of research into developing and refining a methodology for growing plants without light in space. Their hard work and commitment to the project eventually led to them to a winning spot in the NASA Deep Space Food Challenge. Read this recent article about their win.
Liquid Fungi Involvement
Liquid Fungi provided scientific consulting and large quantities of super dense blue oyster mushroom liquid culture for Team NoLux to use during testing. Liquid Fungi is an official supplier of microbiological culture and supplies for UC Riverside Plant Transformation Research Center