NASA Deep Space Food Challenge Winners To Be Announced May 19th

In partnership with the Canadian Space Agency, NASA introduced the Deep Space Food Challenge, a novel program accepting global submissions. The contest is now in its final and second phase. Phase two opened in January 2022 and is comprised of 11 finalists. Finalists will present their work at the NYCxDESIGN Festival in New York. On Friday, May 19th, the phase two winning teams will be announced at the event, which can be viewed via an online Zoom starting at 12 PM EDT.

What healthy and sustainable ways would you use to keep astronauts fed on long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond?

The Phase 2 winners of our Deep Space Food Challenge will be revealed live Friday, May 19, at the #NYCxDESIGN Festival: https://t.co/cp6nP8iWn3 pic.twitter.com/IdjfMiaAWZ

— NASA (@NASA) May 18, 2023

The Deep Space Food Challenge participants strive to offer solutions for future space missions by introducing imaginative, new techniques and strategies for food supplies and nutritious and sustainable solutions for future space travelers on long-term trips. The purpose of these new processes would be to create new technologies or methods for food production that require negligible resources and deliver minor waste.

Some of the solutions in play include systems that produce food utilizing compounds like fungal proteins and carbon dioxide. In addition, a closed-looped system was conceived to grow and maintain vegetables and greens in a space mission environment. A panel of adept judges with specializations in various academic, government, and industry areas will assess the teams’ proposals. The measures they will consider include innovation in design, scientific and technical approaches as well as the practicality and viability of their design.

The Deep Space Food Challenge is all about feeding the interplanetary humans of tomorrow! Here's a refresher on the importance of food technology before our winner’s announcement tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/TfC4o9csFV

— Centennial Challenge (@NASAPrize) May 18, 2023

Phase two finalists will be visited in their facilities by judges. Finalists will present a demonstration to display their technology as well as the simplicity and ease of the process for their food production. Potentially up to five of the highest-scoring U.S. teams will be acknowledged as winners of the phase two challenge. Each winner would be awarded $150,000. In addition, up to three highest-scoring global teams will be identified as winners of the phase two challenge.