Call it pee-cycling.<\/p>\n
Just in case people thought airline food was inedible: Astronauts on future missions to the Moon and Mars could subsist on a brand new \u201cspace food\u201d that is concocted from thin air and urine, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis project aims at developing a key resource which will allow us to improve human spaceflight\u2019s autonomy, resilience and also the well-being of our astronauts,\u201d said Angelique Van Ombergen, the ESA\u2019s chief exploration scientist, the Independent reported.<\/a><\/p>\n Developed by Finnish startup Solar Foods, Solein, as it\u2019s called, is a highly versatile and fuel-efficient powder that\u2019s manufactured from microbes, air and electricity via a gas fermentation process.<\/p>\n \u201cFor human beings to be able to implement long-duration missions on the Moon, or even one day, to go to Mars, will require innovative and sustainable solutions to be able to survive with limited supplies,\u201d declared Angelique Van Ombergen, the ESA\u2019s chief exploration scientist. \u201cWith this project, the ESA is developing a key capability for the future of space exploration.\u201d Solar Foods<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the key ingredient, urea \u2014 an organic compound found in urine \u2014 provides the essential nitrogen source for synthesizing protein in space. On Earth, this process is facilitated by ammonia.<\/p>\n The ESA\u2019s goal is to test to see if the micturate moonshine can be manufactured aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a project called HOBI-WAN (\u201cHydrogen Oxidizing Bacteria In Weightlessness As a source of Nutrition\u201d).<\/p>\n HOBI-WAN will focus on developing the pee-cycling technology on the ground, whereupon, if successful, it will be battle-tested aboard the ISS. NASA\/Roscosmos \/ SWNS<\/p>\n \u201cThe aim of the project is to confirm that our organism grows in the space environment as it does on the ground, and to develop the fundamentals of gas fermentation technology to be used in space \u2014 something that has never been done before in the history of humankind,\u201d Arttu Luukanen, senior vice president of space and defense at Solar Foods, said in a statement, per Space.com.<\/a> \u201cThe behavior of gases and liquids in\u00a0microgravity\u00a0is vastly different due to [the] lack of buoyancy, which can drastically affect the transport of nutrients and gases for Solein microbes.\u201d<\/p>\n Solein (pictured) was developed by Finnish food company Solar Foods. Solar Foods<\/p>\n