After plants, European Space Agency's new project to grow meat in space for astronauts

An abundance of food for astronauts venturing on long-duration space missions would be utterly important to keep wheels of planetary exploration moving. While scientists have alrey grown plants in space for this purpose, y are levelling up by attempting to grow cultured meat to keep astronauts well fed. Experts from European Space Agency (ESA) are supporting researchers for same which y say would ensure food security in space and would be a game-changer for environment, human health and animal welfare.

ESA looks to develop new approach to astronaut nutrition 

ESA engineer Paolo Corri, who proposed idea of feeding astronauts with cultured meat in space says that a large amount of long-shelf-life food would be needed if astronauts venture out into space today. According to Corri, this entails a risk of food degration which would ultimately limit degree of self-sustainability and resilience of mission. 

"If we want to succeed in long-term human exploration far from Earth, we need to rethink our current approach to astronaut nutrition and provide means to efficiently produce food on board, possibly integrated within regenerative life support system", Corri's colleague Christel Paille said.

ESA engineer Corri explains how to produce cultured meat

ESA engineer, who is overseeing project, listed three steps explaining how two teams involved would proceed to bring cultured meat idea to reality. Corri said that first step is analysing and comparing  nutritional value and potential benefits of cultured meat products with those of protein food alternatives used in space. Scientists would n list requirements for growing meat in space based on nutritional guidelines for astronauts and human spaceflight missions in future. 

It is second stage when ESA steps in. Experts from European agency would help Corri's team in astronaut nutrition and human spaceflight through cooperation between different ESA groups and experts. teams would n present ir preliminary design for a cultured meat production system for space applications. "y will compare system with or potential onboard systems for protein food production, and with current approach which involves food supplies being transported from Earth", Corri said. 

Interestingly, experts involved in project believe that if idea is successful, it could make conventional meat a thing of past as technology could help grow cultured meat more efficiently on Earth.

Image: Twitter/@ESA