SpaceX's Elon Musk has colonization plans for Mars and Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos is in agreement that people should settle on the Red Plant "because it is cool."
With the possibility of growing potatoes and other crops on Mars, it seems the red planet may have a beverage to accompany the same.
On Saturday, March 11, Budweiser - which is owned by Belgium-based brewery Anheuser-Busch - revealed that it intends to brew peoples' favorite beer on Mars. The ambitious plan was shared during a panel discussion at the Southwest Interactive Festival. Budweiser made the bold statement of creating a microgravity beer, which will come in handy when humans make it to Mars.
The decision from Budweiser is motivated by its vision to celebrate entrepreneurial spirit, which is the founding principal of the brand. The company asserted that even though the beer is enjoyed all over the world, it believes that it is time for it to take a leap of faith.
"When the dream of colonizing Mars becomes a reality, Budweiser will be there to toast the next great step for mankind," shared Ricardo Marques, vice president of Budweiser.
What Would Be The Challenges?
It may sound like a trivial thing but beer on Mars could be an important item and may impact the psyche of the astronauts positively.
However, Clayton Anderson, a retired astronaut, who was part of the panel discussion shared that the company would have to grapple with several challenges before it could make the microgravity beer a reality.
The major challenge in his opinion would be the lack of gravity, which could be a major hindrance to brewing beer on Mars.
"When you're in a zero-gravity environment, a beverage with carbonation is going to be an issue," explained Anderson.
He gave the example of when one pops open a Budweiser, the pressure inside the bottle is notably higher. Therefore, while on Earth it simply fizzes, space may be a different story altogether. Once the beer pops on Mars, one would likely need to clean everything.
The company is aware of this challenge and is currently researching on the same. It intends to keep the microgravity environment on Mars into account when developing a beer that could be consumed on the red planet.
Moreover, apart from the gravity - which is just a third of that on Earth - another challenge for Budweiser would be to get access to a primary ingredient for beer, which is water.
Partnership With CASIS
Budweiser has partnered with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) for the project and is optimistic that innovative research methods, which are non-traditional, will help in success of such a mission. The company will be able to conduct experiments on the International Space Station (ISS), thanks to the CASIS partnership.
Valerie Toothman, the vice president of Innovation for Anheuser-Busch has shared that the several experiments that will take the barley malt to the ISS have started. This will help the company understand the effects of the low orbit conditions on the grains.
The company will follow this up by planting these grains on Earth, as well as growing and harvesting them. It will also test the grains to observe the changes, if any.
