ASTRONAUTS are planning to grow artificial steaks in space to someday feed people on the Moon and Mars.
Canadian investor Mark Pathy, US entrepreneur Larry Connor, and ex-Israeli Air Force pilot Eytan Stibbe recently headed to the International Space Station (ISS) in the world’s first space tourism mission.
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While on the ISS, the three amateur astronauts will participate in a series of experiments, including cultivating steak from bovine beef cells.
Using bioreactors, the trio is hoping to grow the stem cells in microgravity and turn them into muscle tissue found in steaks.
This natural process works by multiplying and differentiating the bovine cells until they create a cellular mass of muscle, fat, collagen, etc.
The cells are then turned into tissue that resembles the steaks people eat here on Earth.
If the process is successful in space, it could enable astronauts to create their own nutritious food for long-duration missions.
The technology for this experiment was developed by Israeli food technology company Aleph Farms, which is known for cultivating lab-grown beef steaks.
In 2019, the firm created the world’s first 3D-bioprinted ribeye steak and also successfully grew artificial meat in space for the first time.
Dr. Zvika Tamari, head of space research at Aleph Farms, told DailyMail that the company’s goals are to provide steaks to space travelers on the Moon or Mars and to grow low-cost beef for Earth.
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“To produce [natural] steak you have to grow cows for 2-3 years, feed them a lot, you need a lot of land, lots of fresh water, and natural resources,” he said.
“But we can produce good, nutritious, tasty steak wherever, even in the most remote places, in about three weeks. And where is more remote than space? A harsh environment with no natural resources.”
Dr. Tamari added that it will be interesting to see how Aleph Farms’ cellular growth process unfolds in space.
“Various reactions at a cellular level have been observed in many different studies, some multiplying more, some less, and some differentiating more, some less. So it will be very intriguing to see what happens,” he said.
Once perfected, though, the cultivation process will be a cost-friendly alternative to transporting fresh food to space from Earth.
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However, Aleph Farms is also hoping to launch its ‘thin-cut’ steak product in Singapore by the end of 2022.
It”s unclear how much the steak would cost, but it has previously been estimated that one slab of meat would cost around $50, according to DailyMail.
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