Astronauts May One Day Mine Asteroids For Food To Sustain Themselves During Long Space Missions Using A Method Of Producing Edible Biomass
Getting food in space is tricky due to limited storage, nutrition needs, and challenges with zero gravity. Scientists have come up with a way to address the issue of having enough food in space.
Someday, astronauts could mine asteroids for food to sustain themselves during long space missions. Researchers from Western University’s Institute for Earth and Space Exploration have identified a method of producing edible biomass, also known as food.
They are using microbes and organic compounds found in asteroids to do so. The idea could work for future missions to the edge of the solar system and maybe even beyond.
“To deeply explore the solar system, it will be necessary to become less reliant on the resupply tether to Earth,” said the researchers of the new study.
At present, the crew on the International Space Station (ISS) relies on food being sent from Earth to replenish their supply, which is both costly and complicated.
Farming in space is also an intricate process that still needs much more work to be perfected. So, a simpler solution would be a local source of food—space rocks.
High heat must be used to break down the organic compounds in asteroids in oxygen-free environments. The process is called pyrolysis. Then, the compounds can be fed to microbes. They would consume the organic material and produce nutritional biomass for humans.
The researchers focused on an asteroid called carbonaceous chondrites. They contain up to 10.5 percent water and large quantities of organic matter.
One of those asteroids is Bennu, from which a NASA mission collected samples in 2018. In September 2023, pieces of the space rock were returned to Earth for more detailed study.
dimazel – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
The researchers also calculated the amount of food that could be produced using the methods mentioned in the study, as well as how much asteroid material is necessary to reach those amounts.
They estimated that asteroids like Bennu could generate about 50 to 6,550 metric tons of edible biomass that has enough calories to support between 600 and 17,000 astronaut life years.
The minimum number is based on using only aliphatic hydrocarbons for food, while the maximum figure includes all insoluble organic matter.
Overall, mining asteroids could make far-reaching changes in how long-duration space missions are carried out.
It would enable astronauts to sustain themselves with locally sourced food instead of having to launch supplies from Earth, which takes a lot of time and resources.
However, more research still needs to be done on how asteroids can be mined and processed during these missions, in addition to determining if the resulting food is edible.
“Based on these results, this approach of using carbon in asteroids to provide a distributed food source for humans exploring the solar system appears promising, but there are substantial areas of future work required,” wrote the researchers.
The study was published in the International Journal of Astrobiology.
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