NASA to pay $ 500,000 to anyone who can figure out how to grow fresh food in space



[ad_1]

Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin holds watermelon
Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin holds watermelon

Being an astronaut seems really stressful. You have to fly the right spaceship so as not to run into space junk, you have to make sure that a hostile alien does not go through your chest, and you have to eat all kinds of weird freeze-dried meals. Turns out these boring space meals are expensive – which is why NASA is willing to shell out up to $ 500,000 for a great idea that could allow astronauts to grow and eat fresh food in space. during long-term space missions.

UPI reports that NASA and the Canadian Space Agency have teamed up for the Deep Space Food Challenge, in which participants can win cash prizes for their ideas regarding the transportation, production and distribution of fresh food in the ‘space. You can find full details on the Deep Space Food Challenge website, including the challenge timeline. (Hint: Registration for Phase I ends May 28 and submissions must be submitted July 30.) According to the challenge website, up to 20 top-rated US teams will receive $ 25,000 each from NASA. before participating in phase 2. prize for winning phase 2, but it specifies “up to $ 500,000”. In addition, very good bragging rights.

Read more

Before you get too excited, remember that any given spaceship will have minimal resources, space, and utilities to whip up a tasty meal. Astronauts also don’t have a lot of time to grow or prepare their own food. Finally, NASA has tried and failed to grow food in space on several occasions, including green vegetables, radishes, and various nutrients grown with yeast. Do you think you are up to the task? Teams from the United States, Canada and beyond can register online now. If you win, your idea could boldly go where no salad has gone before.

Originally published

[ad_2]

Source link