Method of turning astronaut waste into food

Scientists have developed a method of using microorganisms to separate solid and liquid waste, creating a sticky substance rich in protein and fat as food for astronauts.News.com.auJanuary 28 news.

Recycling waste into food could be a key solution for space exploration, according to microbiology professor Christopher House at Pennsylvania State University. Bringing food from Earth takes up space and adds weight, while growing food on a spacecraft requires a lot of water and energy.

“We envision and test the simultaneous treatment of astronaut waste with microorganisms while creating a biomass that can be eaten directly or indirectly, depending on safety concerns. The idea may sound strange, but it is actually a bit like eating marmite or vegemite, a microbial adhesive,” said Professor House.

The scientists also studied anaerobic digestion during the experiment. "Anaerobic digestion is a process commonly used to treat waste. The innovation in our research is to separate the nutrients and actively feed them into a microbial reactor to grow food," he explained.

The method is not yet ready for immediate use on spacecraft, but could be used to create food for astronauts in the future.

"Imagine if someone could change the mechanism a little bit to recover 85% of the carbon and nitrogen from waste and convert it into protein without using hydroponics or artificial light. That would be a great development for long-distance space travel. The new method would be faster than growing tomatoes or potatoes," Professor House said.

Scientists have now been able to extract water from astronauts' waste on the International Space Station (ISS). Meanwhile, the solid part is discharged into space.