Comprehensive roadmap
The Deep Space Food Consortium is developing a roadmap for future space food systems.
The work is still in its early stages. The roadmap will look at how food systems for long-duration missions may need to develop over time, including production, post-harvest handling, processing, storage, preparation, food safety, crew use, waste streams, and links to habitat systems.
We are currently defining the scope and process before wider consultation begins. The next step is to speak with people across the field, including researchers, technology developers, food-sector experts, analog facilities, space agencies, funders, and companies working on relevant systems.
The aim is to understand what is already being developed, where the main gaps are, and what kinds of evidence will be needed before future food-system concepts can move from isolated demonstrations towards operational use.
More information will be added as the roadmap process develops.
Why this work is needed
Space food research is often organised around individual technologies. That is useful for early development, but it does not show how a full food system would operate during a mission.
A crop system, fermentation unit, storage method, processing technology, or kitchen concept cannot be assessed only as a standalone item. Each one creates requirements for power, water, air, crew time, sanitation, food safety verification, logistics, and waste handling. These links need to be understood before future systems can be compared, tested, or implemented.
What the roadmap will examine
System functions
The roadmap will map the main functions needed to move from food production to food use. This includes the steps that are often left outside early demonstrations, such as harvest handling, stabilization, storage, cleaning, microbial control, and waste-stream management.
Mission phases
The roadmap will consider how food-system capabilities may develop across different mission phases. Some functions may support early supplementary food production. Others may become relevant only when surface habitats, infrastructure, crew sizes, and operating periods increase.
Evidence needs
The roadmap will identify what needs to be measured, tested, and documented before food-system concepts can move beyond isolated demonstrations. This includes performance data, interface data, crew-time data, food safety data, and operational data from relevant test environments.
Shared terminology
The roadmap will also help clarify terminology across the field. Different communities often use the same words in different ways, or describe similar functions under different names. That makes comparison difficult.
How the roadmap is being developed
The roadmap process begins with scope. DSFC is defining the main food-system functions, the terminology used across the field, and the kinds of evidence that should be included.
This first step also includes a review of existing work. We are mapping relevant research, technologies, facilities, datasets, and current programmes, with particular attention to areas where work remains fragmented or difficult to compare.
The next step is consultation. DSFC will speak with people working across space food, terrestrial food systems, life support, analogue testing, nutrition, automation, food safety, waste management, and related areas.
Input from the field
The first consultation phase will focus on practical questions.
What is already being developed? What has been tested? Which assumptions are still unproven? Where are data missing? Which barriers are slowing progress? Which facilities or test environments could help generate the evidence needed?
This input will help DSFC identify where the roadmap can be useful, where the field already has enough information, and where further work is needed before specific technologies or system concepts can be compared.
Register interest
If your organisation is working on relevant research, technology, facilities, data, standards, policy, or funding, you can register interest in the roadmap process.
DSFC will use this list to share updates and invite selected contributors to future discussions, workshops, and review activities.
More information will be added as the roadmap process develops.