Space Food
If an experiment sent by scientists into orbit on 7/15/25 is a success, astronauts might be able to enjoy foods like mashed potatoes and steak grown in a space lab.
Right now, most food brought to outer space must be freeze-dried to make it last longer and to decrease its weight. and makes it last longer.
Experts are testing how to use single cells, such as animal and plant cells, to grow food. The European Space Agency (ESA) project is experimenting with whether or not lab-grown food could last in orbit.
Dr. Aqeel Shamsul, founder and CEO of Bedford-based Frontier Space, is working on the project with experts at Imperial College London. Aqeel Shamsul told BBC science reporter Pallab Ghosh that the test is the first step to an even larger project. Dr. Aqeel Shamsul said to BBC News, “Our dream is to have factories in orbit and on the Moon.”
Currently, a few kinds of tests they have been attempting on Earth have been launched into Earth’s orbit in a tiny square satellite. This was riding on Europe’s reusable capsule Phoenix, which was on board the Falcon 9 rocket that launched on 4/21/25.
Food grown in a laboratory or a lab is considered any food that is made without using traditional growing techniques or farming.
Cells of plants or animals can be increased and made in a laboratory to make more food. In the UK, lab-grown meat is available for pet food, and in the US, lab-grown chicken is obtainable.
People at the Imperial College’s Bezos Centre for Sustainable Proteins in London are testing to see how food can be made in test tubes, and to make it taste and look like regular food. Director of the Bezos Centre, Dr. Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro, said to Pallab Ghosh, “We can make all the elements to make food. We can make proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and fibers, and they can be combined to make different dishes.”
A reason that this is happening is because of the price of sending astronauts food on the ISS, which is about 20,000 euros per astronaut each day. Space agencies, such as private sector firms and NASA, plan to be in outer space for a long time, in space stations and later, possibly on Mars. However, launching food for hundreds of people would be way too expensive.
“We need to build manufacturing facilities off-world if we are to provide the infrastructure to enable humans to live and work in space.” Said Aqeel Shamsul.
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