NASA awards $1.25 million in deep space food challenge
Pioneering food systems promoted
NASA has awarded $1.25 million in prizes for groundbreaking food systems developed for deep space missions, culminating in the third and final round of the Deep Space Food Challenge.
The challenge aimed to create innovative solutions for providing astronauts with sustainable, nutritious, and delicious food for extended space journeys, such as future Artemis missions and trips to Mars.
The grand prize of $750,000 was awarded to Interstellar Lab, a small business with a team spanning France, Texas, and Florida. Their winning entry, NUCLEUS, integrates multiple technologies to grow and harvest food in space. The system features autonomous phytotrons and controlled-environment greenhouses, producing fresh vegetables, microgreens, and essential insect-based micronutrients.
“NUCLEUS represents a significant advancement in our quest for sustainable food systems in space,” said Angela Herblet, challenge manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre. “This challenge has united visionary minds globally to push the boundaries of space food technology.”
Two runners-up
In addition to the grand prize, two runners-up each received $250,000. Nolux, from Riverside, California, developed an artificial photosynthesis system capable of producing plant—and fungal-based foods without traditional biological processes.
SATED, led by Jim Sears from Boulder, Colorado, created a versatile food system that includes customisable meals like pizza and peach cobbler. It has a long shelf life and uses in-situ-grown ingredients.
The competition also recognised an international team. Solar Foods of Lappeenranta, Finland, was honoured for its innovative gas fermentation system, which generates single-cell protein for food production.
The final phase of the challenge took place at Ohio State University in Columbus, where four American teams showcased their technologies—the testing period included evaluating safety, sensory quality, palatability, and production volume.
The Deep Space Food Challenge, a collaboration between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), began in 2021 with over 300 teams from 32 countries participating. The initiative aims to support deep space missions and has potential applications for improving food production in disaster-prone and food-insecure regions on Earth.
At the awards ceremony held during the Deep Space Food Symposium, celebrity chef Tyler Florence honoured Team SATED with the ‘Tyler Florence Award for Culinary Innovation’ for their impressive food system.
“Congratulations to all the finalists and winners for their dedication and creativity,” said Amy Kaminski, NASA’s program executive for Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing. “These advancements can transform food accessibility in space and here on Earth.”Top of Form
Featured image: Interstellar Lab, a small business comprised of team members from France, Texas, and Florida, took home the $750,000 grand prize for their food system, NUCLEUS, which uses a multi-pronged approach to growing and harvesting food outputs for astronauts on long-duration human space exploration missions. Credit: OSU/CFAES/Kenneth Chamberlain
