In Situ Yogurt Production for Probiotic and Nutrition Delivery

The technical approach to meeting the objectives above includes the development of a packet system that stores dried milk solids and a preserved form of the multiple yogurt culture microbes. When needed, the packet would be hydrated using a typical food hydration system already in use in spacecraft. The hydrated packet would be incubated at an elevated temperature for a determined period and then either refrigerated for storage or consumed immediately.

Providing human nutrition and maintaining overall crew health and well-being poses major challenges, particularly in long duration missions. Certain nutrients degrade in stored foods and supplements with time, and will require generation in situ. Likewise, the crew's microbiome status is of major concern, as this is a strong determinant of overall health. Additionally, the psychological well-being of the crew is tightly coupled with the availability of familiar, good tasting and nutritious food. This project aims to address all three of these mission needs by providing the capability to locally generate fresh, nutritious food that also serves to maintain the crew's microbiome health. This approach can be employed in any mission scenario, including ISS and beyond LEO exploration

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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