MEIT employee builds winning prototype to 3D print customized space food

Congrats to Xulei Wu for receiving 1^st Place for Director’s Choice at the 2019 JSC EISD Technology Showcase Poster Presentation.

This project investigated 3D food printing as an addition to current Space Food System with the potential to benefit human space exploration by allowing meal customization reflecting the astronauts needs and eating preferences. Benefits may include precise delivery of nutrients in response to biometrics data, adjustments in nutrient and caloric density to allow variation in the meal size actually consumed, and adjustments in texture and flavor to meet the sensory preference of each astronaut. This project analyzed the printability of hydrated ready-to-eat freeze-dried ingredients with the advantages of light weight and long shelf life and requiring minimum on-board post-processing.

Congrats, again, to Xulei and buon appetito to our astronuats!

Photo courtesy of NASA/Markowitz.