German team awarded by NASA

Washington – Suggestions for astronaut food with the help of microorganisms, insects or 3D printers have been awarded in a competition of the space agencies of the USA and Canada – and a team from Germany is among them. The “Electric Cow” team proposed using microorganisms and 3D printers to produce food from carbon dioxide, among other things, announced the US space agency Nasa on Monday at a pre-recorded video show.

The so-called Deep Space Food Challenge had around 180 submissions from all over the world. Eighteen winners from the US and ten from Canada and the rest of the world received mostly cash prizes and were invited to take part in a second phase of the competition. “We are really excited to see what you will cook up,” said US entrepreneur and guest juror Martha Stewart.

The competition was advertised primarily with a view to longer missions to more distant destinations in space, said Nasa boss Bill Nelson. “We have to design food that can help us when we fly to Mars.” The food on the International Space Station is sufficient, said ex-astronaut Scott Kelly, who had spent around a year on the ISS. “But there is always room for improvement. Growing something, preparing it and eating well makes you feel at home. “

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