The European Space Agency (ESA) launched a mission to explore the feasibility of producing lab-grown food in space, aiming to reduce the costs of feeding astronauts. A small bioreactor containing genetically modified yeast cells was sent into orbit aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This experiment seeks to determine whether food can be successfully cultivated in the harsh conditions of space, characterized by low gravity and high radiation levels.
Dr. Aqeel Shamsul, CEO and founder of Frontier Space, is leading the project in collaboration with researchers at Imperial College London. "Lab-grown food will be essential to achieve the goal of making humanity a multi-planetary species," said Dr. Shamsul, according to BBC News. He emphasized that producing food in space would be more logical than sending it via rockets, which is prohibitively expensive.
Currently, the daily food cost for an astronaut can reach up to $25,000, posing a financial burden for space agencies. By cultivating food directly in space, these costs could be drastically reduced. The project envisions establishing a small pilot food production unit on the International Space Station (ISS) within two years as a first step toward sustainable space habitation.
The process involves cultivating core food elements—proteins, fats, and carbohydrates—in bioreactors, which are then processed into forms that have the appearance and taste of conventional foods. "We can make proteins, fats, carbohydrates, dietary fibers, and they can be combined to make different dishes," explained Dr. Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro, director of the lab behind the project at Imperial College London.
One of the innovative aspects of the project is the use of precision fermentation, a process involving precise genetic modifications to produce essential nutrients. This technique is similar to fermentation used in brewing beer but tailored for nutrient production. A gene has been added to the yeast to ensure the production of additional vitamins, enhancing the nutritional value of the food produced.
Culinary designer Jakub Radzikowski is tasked with transforming these lab-grown ingredients into palatable dishes for astronauts. "We want to create food that is familiar to astronauts from different parts of the world," he told BBC News. "We will be able to create anything from French, Chinese, Indian food. It will be possible to reproduce any type of cuisine in space." Currently, Radzikowski is developing recipes using natural fungi-based ingredients until lab-grown versions are cleared for consumption.
Former British astronaut Helen Sharman, who has sampled some of the experimental dishes, praised the flavor and potential of lab-grown food. "You get a strong blast of taste—it's absolutely delicious," she told BBC News. Reflecting on her time in space, she noted, "Astronauts usually lose weight because they don't eat much. The food is very monotonous and quickly becomes boring. Therefore, something that was prepared from scratch can spark astronauts' lively interest—if they feel they are eating really nutritious food."
The successful cultivation of food in space could also address health issues faced by astronauts on long-duration missions. Astronauts' bodies undergo many changes, including disrupted hormone balance and decreased bone density. Lab-grown foods, enriched with special nutrients, have the potential to prevent these effects. Lab-grown food could be tailored to include the necessary nutrients for astronauts, potentially reducing the need for supplements.
Looking to the future, Dr. Shamsul envisions a time when astronauts can produce foods such as steak, puree, and desserts directly in a laboratory environment in space. "In the long term, we could put lab-grown materials in a 3D printer and print whatever we want on the Space Station, like a steak!" he told CNN Greece. "An astronaut who wants steak will print it from the printer. This is no longer science fiction; it's reality."
The initial test bioreactor orbited the Earth briefly before descending near Portugal. Upon its return, scientists will study the condition of the yeast, and the data obtained from the experiment will form the basis for creating a larger and more advanced bioreactor. The team hopes that this work is the first step towards establishing a small-scale food production facility on the ISS within two years.
Proponents of lab-grown food also highlight environmental benefits compared to traditional agricultural methods, such as less land use and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. As space agencies plan for long-duration missions and even habitation on the Moon and Mars, sustainable food production becomes a critical component of human space exploration.
"Growing food directly in space makes much more sense as space agencies plan to build permanently inhabited stations in orbit and establish a presence on the Moon and Mars," emphasized Dr. Shamsul. "We need to build manufacturing facilities off-world if we are to provide the infrastructure to enable humans to live and work in space."
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.