Anjan Contractor, a senior mechanical engineer at Systems and Materials Research Corporation, is currently working on a 3D printer, that can print food. NASA has awarded Anjan a grant of $125,000 for the same purpose. NASA saw that he was able to print chocolate. Food, obviously, won't come out of thin air, the printer needs the materials to make up the food but still. NASA is looking quite interested, this is maybe because they are looking for a way to spice up meal plans for astronauts and other scientists that are thinking of taking on the about-two-year journey to Mars.
The ability to print food in space can make travelling longer distances in space more feasible, and that is because the printed food can last much longer than food currently taken into space. These days Anjan is focusing on developing a printer that can print pizza.
Commenting on this topic, Anjan said - Long distance space travel requires 15-plus year of shell life. The way we are looking on it, all the carbs, proteins and macro and micro nutrients are in powder form. We can moisture out, and in that form it will last maybe 30 years. However NASA clearly said that you shouldn't expect 3D printers to be popping up in the home appliances section anytime soon.
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| 3D-printed pizza in space |
Commenting on this topic, Anjan said - Long distance space travel requires 15-plus year of shell life. The way we are looking on it, all the carbs, proteins and macro and micro nutrients are in powder form. We can moisture out, and in that form it will last maybe 30 years. However NASA clearly said that you shouldn't expect 3D printers to be popping up in the home appliances section anytime soon.
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