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Current food-related NASA funded research projects |
S. J. FRENCH, Lockheed Martin Space Operations Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., 2101 NASA Rd. 1, Mail Code SF3, Houston, TX 77058 NASA funded research projects have contributed to academia, industry and government efforts to improve food systems. NASA’s future contributions will increase with four Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and two NASA Research Announcement (NRA) grants having been awarded in the area of food research. Current externally funded research includes efforts from programs such as the Food Technology Commercial Space Center (FTCSC) at Iowa State University. The FTCSC consists of both faculty and commercial partners working in the areas of education outreach, soybean research and safety technologies. The Center for Food and Environmental Systems for Human Exploration of Space (CFESH), located at Tuskegee University is funded through an HBCU (Highly Black College and University) grant. The CFESH is researching ways to grow, process and utilize waste from sweet potato and peanut crops. In the summer of 2002, interns from Tuskegee University assisted in work performed on breadmaking for long duration missions. The NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training, located at Purdue University, is working to utilize biomass to produce food products, minimize waste for packaging systems and develop an integrated package-safety indicator system. Food research funding at Johnson Space Center has enabled salad crop and apogee wheat functionality evaluation, shelf life determination, HACCP procedure determination and improvements to the soymilk, tofu, okara and whey (STOW) processor prototype. Since its inception, the STOW has undergone radical changes to every aspect of its design. These changes have contributed to making the STOW a capable research technology. Continuing projects within the Advanced Food System (AFS) include comparing two mission scenarios as relates to food, shelf life determination, development of thermostabilized food items, and handling procedures for vegetable crops including serving sizes, HACCP and hydrogen peroxide sanitation. Other activities include the development of an AFS roadmap and website.
Session 2, An advanced food system for long duration space missions
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