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NASA is getting ready to send four astronauts around the Moon with Artemis II, laying the foundation for sustainable missions to the lunar surface and paving the way for human exploration on Mars. As the agency considers deep space endeavors that could last months or years, it must develop ways to feed astronauts beyond sending supplies from Earth.<\/p>\n
That is why NASA is launching the Deep Space Food Challenge: Mars to Table<\/a>, a new global competition inviting chefs, innovators, culinary experts, higher-education students, and citizen scientists to design a complete, Earth-independent food system for long-duration space missions.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the future, exploration missions will grow in both duration and distance from Earth. This will make the critical question of feeding our astronauts more complex, requiring innovative solutions to allow for long-term human exploration of space,\u201d said Greg Stover, acting associate administrator of NASA\u2019s Space Technology Missions Directorate at\u00a0NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cOpening the door to ideas from beyond the agency strengthens NASA\u2019s ability to operate farther from Earth with greater independence.\u201d<\/p>\n Mars to Table builds on NASA\u2019s first Deep Space Food Challenge<\/a> by seeking to integrate multiple food production and preparation methods into a holistic, self-sustaining system designed for use on Mars. This new challenge is open now until July 31 to the global public and carries a prize purse of up to $750,000.<\/p>\n \u201cFuture crews on the Moon and Mars will need food systems that are nutritious, sustainable, and fully independent from Earth,\u201d said Jarah Meador, program executive for NASA\u2019s Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program at NASA Headquarters. \u201cFood will play a pivotal role in the overall health and happiness of future deep space explorers. The Mars to Table Challenge is about bringing all those pieces together into one comprehensive design.\u201d<\/p>\n Solvers are tasked with creating a complete meal plan suitable for astronauts living on Mars, using a NASA-created mission scenario as their guide. Each team will design a full food system concept, including a detailed operations plan and system design layout that supports a surface mission. Teams must consider every detail \u2013 from nutritional balance and taste to safety, usability, and integration with NASA\u2019s Environmental Control and Life Support Systems<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n