WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- NASA invites the media and public to explore the
nexus of space and food innovation at the agency's Deep Space Food
Challenge symposium and winners' announcement at the Nationwide and
Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center in Columbus,
Ohio, on Friday, Aug. 16.
In 2019, NASA and the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) started
the Deep Space Food Challenge, a multi-year international
effort to develop sustainable food systems for long-duration
habitation in space including the Moon and Mars. Since Phase 1 of
the challenge opened in 2021, more than 300 teams from 32 countries
have developed innovative food system designs. On Aug. 16, NASA will announce the final Phase 3
winners and recognize the shared global effort.
NASA will award up to $1.5 million
during the awards ceremony, totaling the prize purse for this
three-year competition at $3 million.
International teams also will be recognized for their
achievements.
"Advanced food systems also benefit life on Earth," said
Kim Krome-Sieja, acting program
manager of NASA Centennial Challenges at NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville,
Alabama. "Solutions from this challenge could enable new
avenues for food production around the world, especially in extreme
environments, resource-scarce regions, and in locations where
disasters disrupt critical infrastructure."
Media also may request attendance for activities on Thursday, Aug. 15, including private tours,
networking, knowledge sharing, and culinary experiences. Interested
media need to RSVP by 3 p.m. EDT
Monday, Aug. 12, to Lane
Figueroa at lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov.
The Methuselah Foundation, NASA's partner in the Deep Space Food
Challenge, is hosting the event in coordination with the
Ohio State University College of Food,
Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and NASA Centennial
Challenges.
"Our Phase 2 winners' event in Brooklyn, New York, was an incredible display
of innovation, partnership, and collaboration across NASA,
industry, and academia," said Angela Herblet, challenge manager of
the Deep Space Food Challenge and program analyst of NASA
Centennial Challenges at NASA Marshall. "I'm looking forward to
celebrating these brilliant Phase 3 finalists and underscoring the
giant leaps they've made toward creating sustainable, regenerative
food production systems."
The event will feature a meet and greet with the Phase 3
finalists, symposium panels, and live demonstrations of the
finalists' food production technologies. Attendees also will have
the opportunity to meet the crew of Ohio
State students called "Simunauts," who managed operations of
the technologies during the eight-week demonstration and testing
period.
"The Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing team is excited to
welcome media, stakeholders, and the public to our event in
Columbus," said Amy Kaminski, program executive for NASA's
Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing at NASA Headquarters in
Washington, D.C. "These finalists
have worked diligently for three years to develop their diverse,
innovative food systems, and I'm excited to see how their
technologies may impact NASA's future deep space missions."
The awards ceremony also will livestream on Marshall Space
Flight Center's YouTube channel and NASA Prize's Facebook
page.
As a NASA Centennial Challenge, the Deep Space Food Challenge is
a coordinated effort between NASA and CSA for the benefit of all.
Subject matter experts at NASA's Johnson Space Center in
Houston and NASA's Kennedy Space
Center in Florida support the
competition. NASA's Centennial Challenges are part of the Prizes,
Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program within NASA's Space
Technology Mission Directorate and managed at NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville,
Alabama. The Methuselah Foundation, in partnership with NASA,
oversees the competitors.
For more information about the symposium, see the symposium
website. To learn more about the Deep Space Food Challenge,
visit:
nasa.gov/spacefoodchallenge
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SOURCE NASA