A Global Nexus for the Space Food Ecosystem

The Deep Space Food Consortium expands and defines future food systems for deep space by bringing together the global community to connect opportunities across disciplines.

Food is a major gap for long-duration space exploration, and history shows it can make or break mission success.

In 2021, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency launched the Deep Space Food Challenge to identify technologies for future space food systems. By 2024, it was clear the focus must expand beyond individual technologies to a full food ecosystem. A systems-level roadmap, spanning production, safety, processing, and storage, is essential to address the full scope and complexity of the challenge.

In short: the responsibility cannot lie with just one country, organization, or industry.

Who We Are

The Deep Space Food Consortium is an agile organization with a global footprint that operates across a spectrum of food- and space-related disciplines and industries to accelerate opportunities in applied research, tech development, and demonstrations. We work to stimulate and guide sustainable space food system development for long-duration exploration and habitation, while impacting challenges here on Earth.

Mission

To unify global space food research by building shared roadmaps, standards, and platforms to accelerate research and technology development, validation, and deployment.

Vision

The development and deployment of sustainable, evolvable space food systems that enable human exploration and habitation beyond Earth, while advancing resilient, efficient, and equitable food systems for life on Earth.

Priority Areas

  • Pre-Packaged System Innovations

  • Space Crop Production Systems

  • Novel Food Production Technology

  • Processing and Preparation

  • Food Safety Monitoring and Detection

  • Technology Integration

  • Nutrition and Sensory Testing

  • Facility Setup and Operation

  • Data Analysis and Reporting

  • Human Health and Performance

Capabilities and Goals

  • Define Market and Identify Innovations

    How We Contribute:

    Advocate & prioritize related research needs

    Recruit expertise in applicable space and food related fields

    Establish thought leadership through publications, engagements, and global partnerships

    Standardize and guide the establishment and development of a space food system

  • Prepare Innovations for Market

    How We Contribute:

    Network to identify people, places, and opportunities

    Identify, vet and advocate for technologies and approaches

    Encourage and support cross-discipline development of breakthrough R&D

    Investigate methodologies and approaches to stay current on market directions and trends

  • Bring Innovations to Market

    How We Contribute:

    Foster collaboration to align and create impacts for space and Earth

    Demonstrate viability of components within a system

    Provide all-inclusive testing to validate and accelerate further development and application

    Compare performance of competing and complimentary technologies