About the
Challenge
CURRENT STATUS:
Awarded & Closed
The Deep Space Food Challenge (2021-2024) was a public prize competition launched in parallel, in Canada by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and in the U.S. by the National Aeronautics and the Space Administration (NASA) Centennial Challenges Program. The Methuselah Foundation was the Allied Partner to NASA and administered the U.S. and International (non-Canadian) competition.
The three-phased NASA Challenge offered awards from a total prize purse of $1.5M to U.S. teams and special recognition to international teams across three phases of competition.
Teams were invited to create novel and game-changing food technologies or systems that require minimal inputs and maximize safe, nutritious, and palatable food outputs for long-duration space missions, and which have potential to benefit people on Earth.
CHALLENGE GOALS
This Challenge incentivized teams to develop novel technologies and/or systems for food production that did not need to meet the full nutritional requirements of future crews but ones that could contribute significantly to and be integrated into a comprehensive food system and…
Help fill food gaps for a crew of four for a 3-year round-trip mission with no resupply.
Improve the accessibility of food on Earth, in particular, via production directly in urban centers and in remote and harsh environments.
Achieve the greatest amount of food output with minimal inputs and minimal waste.
Create a variety of palatable, nutritious, and safe foods that requires little processing time for crew members.
Challenge Phases and Timeline
PHASE 1: DESIGN
January 2021 - October 2021
GOAL: Identify Potential
Innovators from around the world were required to design food production technologies, systems or approaches that met the challenge criteria. Teams submitted advanced design concepts for food production systems and approaches.
AWARDS: NASA awarded 18 US Teams $25,000 each and formally recognize the top 10 scoring International Teams. All winners were invited to participate in the Phase 2 competition.
PHASE 2: INITIAL DEMONSTRATION
January 2022 - May 2023
GOAL: Test Prototypes & Prove the Opportunity
Teams were required to build a food production technology prototype and demonstrate the prototype during a kitchen-level demonstration at thei own facilities.
FINALISTS: NASA named 11 Teams as Phase 2 Finalists; 8 U.S. Teams each received $20,000, and 3 International Teams were recognized. These Finalist Teams were invited to compete in on-site demonstrations.
FINAL AWARDS: NASA awarded 5 U.S. Teams $150,000 each and formally recognized 3 International Teams as Phase 2 winners.
PHASE 3: LONG-TERM DEMONSTRATION
September 2023 - August 2024
GOAL: Assessment for Potential Adoption
Teams scaled their food production technology prototype to support an 8-week, multi-cycle demonstration in a simulated analog. Required teams to scale their Phase 2 winning food production technology for an 8-week demonstration in-person and on-site at the Ohio State University Wilbur A. Gould Food Industries Center’s Food Processing Pilot Plant in Columbus, Ohio (USA). Teams provided documentation that shows the potential impact of the demonstrated technology for Earth-based applications.
AWARDS: NASA awarded 1 US Team $X and two runners up $X each; and recognized 1 International Team and 2 runners up as Challenge winners.