NASA announced the selection of 18 winning teams for Phase I of the Deep Space Food Challenge. Space Lab Café, a novel crop production system from Space Lab Technologies, LLC in Boulder, CO was among the winning teams.
In Phase I of the Deep Space Food Challenge, teams were asked to create novel food production technologies that require minimal inputs and maximize safe, nutritious, and palatable food outputs for long-duration space missions and have the potential to benefit people on Earth. Specifically, the challenge asked that the system fill food gaps for a 3-year round-trip mission for a crew of 4 with no resupply.
Space Lab Café is a compact vertical farm that continuously produces a variety of nutritious produce with minimal water, power, waste, or processing time. It operates with or without gravity, in a Lunar, Martian, or spacecraft habitat, while providing a farm-to-table solution for Earth’s urban centers or remote, harsh environments.
From the Space Lab® Café animation: “Space Lab Café continuously produces nutritious and delicious ready-to-eat produce for long-duration exploration missions. Because plant waste and water are recycled, consumable resources and process wastes are minimal. Food output is maximized by making efficient use of constrained space and limited power.”
Each winning team will receive $25k, which Space Lab will use to continue the development of Space Lab Café in Phase II of the Deep Space Food Challenge. Space Lab is proud to be developing innovative food systems that will enable human space exploration to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
For more information:
Space Lab Tech
www.spacelabtech.com