VOA科学技术2023--NASA Supports New Methods to Grow Food in Space

NASA Supports New Methods to Grow Food in Space

The American space agency NASA is supporting new methods to grow food in space to support astronauts during long missions.

NASA recently announced the winners of a competition in which teams proposed ways to produce unusual foods in space.

The agency plans to send astronauts to the moon and Mars¹ in the future. It also hopes to establish long-term bases in space. To do this, NASA says it will need to find effective food production systems to support human space travelers.

NASA's competition is called the Deep Space Food Challenge. The latest part of the challenge involved teams creating small, working models of food production systems designed for space. The systems should require few resources and create little waste.

Judges from NASA chose eight winners. Five of the teams are based in the United States. The others were based in Australia, Sweden and Finland. NASA invited all the winners to create full-size versions of their food production methods over the next year. The U.S. teams also each received $150,000 in prize money to help develop their systems.

Amy Kaminski helped organize the competition for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington. Kaminski said she was pleased to announce the winners and looks forward to seeing "where these teams can take their technologies next."

One of the winners was Air Company of Brooklyn, New York. The company developed a system for turning air, water, electricity and yeast² into food. The company says the system can turn carbon dioxide that astronauts breathe out into high-protein nutrients³ to support humans in space.

Air Company's co-founder and Chief Technology Officer is Stafford Sheehan. He told Reuters news agency that the yeast-based food is healthier than the drink Tang. Tang was a drink product that NASA astronaut John Glenn popularized in 1962 when he became the first American to orbit Earth.

Sheehan said he first developed his carbon-conversion technology as a way to produce high-purity alcohols for jet fuel, the alcoholic⁴ drink vodka and other products. He noted⁵ that the NASA competition led him to change his invention to produce a protein-rich mix for astronauts.

Sheehan said his product is similar to many protein shakes on the market. He compared its taste to that of seitan, a tofu-like food made from wheat gluten sometimes used as a substitute for meat. He said the product is "sweet tasting."

Among the other winners were a bioregenerative system from a Florida laboratory to raise fresh vegetables, mushrooms and even insects to be used as food. A team from California said it developed a process that copies the natural photosynthesis⁶ process to produce plant and mushroom-based materials.

And scientists in Finland created a system that uses gas fermentation to produce proteins.

Up to $1.5 million in prize money will be divided among the final winners of the competition.

Words in This Story

mission – n. a flight by an aircraft or spacecraft to perform a specific task

challenge – n. something difficult that tests someone's ability or determination

yeast – n. a substance used to make bread rise and to make beer and wine

bioregeneration - n. a biological process that is formed or created again

photosynthesis – n. the process by which a plant uses carbon dioxide from the air, water from the ground, and the energy from the light of the sun to produce its own food and oxygen

 

fermentation – n. a process of chemical change in food or drink because of the action of yeast or bacteria

1 Mars   

n.火星，战争

参考例句：

• As of now we don't know much about Mars.目前我们对火星还知之甚少。
• He contended that there must be life on Mars.他坚信火星上面一定有生物。

2 yeast   

n.酵母；酵母片；泡沫；v.发酵；起泡沫

参考例句：

• Yeast can be used in making beer and bread.酵母可用于酿啤酒和发面包。
• The yeast began to work.酵母开始发酵。

3 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 photosynthesis   

n.光合作用

参考例句：

• In apple trees photosynthesis occurs almost exclusively in the leaves.苹果树的光合作用几乎只发生在叶内。
• Chloroplasts are the structures in which photosynthesis happens.叶绿体就是光合作用发生的地方。