Growing food in space could soon become a reality
22 Apr 2025

In a first, the European Space Agency (ESA) has launched a revolutionary project to grow food in space.

The experiment, which was launched into orbit today, will test the viability of growing lab-grown food in low gravity and high radiation conditions of space.

The research is part of ESA's efforts to find cost-effective ways to feed astronauts, whose daily food can cost up to £20,000 (around ₹23 lakh).

Food production plant likely in the future
Plans

The team behind the ESA experiment sees it as an important first step toward setting up a small-scale food production facility on the ISS in two years.

Frontier Space CEO Dr. Aqeel Shamsul said lab-grown food is essential for NASA's vision of making humanity a multi-planetary species.

He imagines factories in orbit and on the Moon to sustain human life and work in space.

Lab-grown food: A solution for space missions
Space sustenance

Lab-grown food is made by growing ingredients like protein, fat, and carbohydrates in controlled environments.

This technique has already led to lab-grown chicken being sold in the US and Singapore, while lab-grown steak is waiting for approval in the UK and Israel.

While on Earth this tech provides environmental benefits over traditional farming techniques, its biggest advantage in space is cost-cutting.

How will the ESA experiment work?
Trial

As part of the ESA mission, a compact version of the bioreactor used for lab-grown food production has been sent into space.

The experiment involves sending small amounts of a yeast mixture into orbit aboard Phoenix, Europe's first commercial returnable spacecraft.

If successful, this will pave the way for a larger bioreactor to be launched into space next year.

Culinary expert working on space food recipes
Recipe

While the bioreactor process is perfected, culinary education designer Jakub Radzikowski at Imperial College London is working on recipes using starches and proteins from naturally occurring fungi.

He wants to create dishes familiar to astronauts from different parts of the world.

Once he gets approval for lab-grown ingredients, he wants to replicate any kind of cuisine in space.

Lab-grown food could enhance astronauts' diets
Nutritional benefits

The UK's first astronaut, Dr. Helen Sharman, also praised the lab-grown food concept. She suggested it could not just improve astronauts' diets but also reduce costs to make long-term off-world living feasible.

Research has shown that astronauts' bodies undergo biochemical changes during extended space missions, affecting their hormone balance and calcium levels.

Lab-grown food could potentially be tailored with additional ingredients to counter these effects.