NASA's Deep Space Food Challenge seeks to choose the next menu of the upcoming space missions to the Moon and Mars in the future.
A chef from French chef Alain Ducasse's team (R) prepares a dessert for the French astronaut Thomas Pesquet at the canning factory Henaff in Pouldreuzic, near Brest, western France, on April 20, 2021. - The French astronaut will board SpaceX on April 22, 2021 to the International Space Station (ISS) and will carry various meals prepared by the French chef Alain Ducasse's team.
NASA's Deep Space Food Challenge and Space Menu
Although the winning submissions also featured familiar menu choices like strawberries and baked bread, one of the entries included insects, as per the report by CNN.
The Deep Space Food Challenge of NASA announced the winning entries of the said competition during the latter part of October, showcasing innovative ways to feed astronauts in space.
It is to note that the competition further seeks to help produce food choices that would not only feed folks in space missions but also also provide them with the right amount of nutrients as much as possible.
Not to mention that the challenge would also consider the taste of the menu, which would also consider about the minimal resources and reduction of waste in space.
Such menu offerings in space missions will help propel a future wherein astronauts solely rely on multiple resupply missions from Earth, which costs millions of dollars to fly.
NASA and the Next Space Menu
NASA teamed up with the Methuselah Foundation and the Canadian Space Agency to launch the Deep Space Food Challenge way back in January.
It is to note that the said competition, which will be airing on NASA Television or NASA TV, is part of the Centennial Challenges Program of the United States space agency.
The said program of NASA provides monetary prizes to ideas coming from the general public in terms of various aspects of space missions. It also notably includes the supposed design of homes in upcoming Mars human colonization.
NASA's Deep Food Challenge and Martha Stewart
According to the news story of Collect Space, two celebrity chefs, namely Martha Stewart and Lynn Crawford, will be choosing which among the 38 winning entries will be named as the winner of the contest.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 07: Martha Stewart speaks at the 2021 Hudson River Park Gala at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers on October 07, 2021 in New York City.
Aside from the celeb chefs, two astronauts would also have a say in the final stage of the competition, including Chris Hadfield and Scott Kelly.
NASA's Deep Food Challenge Winning Entries
Collect Space further noted in the same report that the submission came from varying participants, such as chefs, small food businesses, students, and even other kinds of people.
Aside from them, the Canadian Space Agency also picked ten winning teams from Canada. Meanwhile, both NASA and the CSA also chose ten submissions across the globe.
Related Article: ISS Food Is Not All Bland, Says French Astronaut; But How Exactly Is Food Packed For Outer Space?
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Written by Teejay Boris
