NASA is getting ready to send four astronauts around the Moon with Artemis II, laying the foundation for sustainable missions to the lunar surface and paving the way for human exploration on Mars. As the agency considers deep space endeavors that could last months or years, it must develop ways to feed astronauts beyond sending supplies from Earth.

That is why NASA is launching the Deep Space Food Challenge: Mars to Table, a new global competition inviting chefs, innovators, culinary experts, higher-education students, and citizen scientists to design a complete, Earth-independent food system for long-duration space missions.

“In the future, exploration missions will grow in both duration and distance from Earth. This will make the critical question of feeding our astronauts more complex, requiring innovative solutions to allow for long-term human exploration of space,” said Greg Stover, acting associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Missions Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Opening the door to ideas from beyond the agency strengthens NASA’s ability to operate farther from Earth with greater independence.”

Mars to Table builds on NASA’s first Deep Space Food Challenge by seeking to integrate multiple food production and preparation methods into a holistic, self-sustaining system designed for use on Mars. This new challenge is open now until July 31 to the global public and carries a prize purse of up to $750,000.

“Future crews on the Moon and Mars will need food systems that are nutritious, sustainable, and fully independent from Earth,” said Jarah Meador, program executive for NASA’s Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program at NASA Headquarters. “Food will play a pivotal role in the overall health and happiness of future deep space explorers. The Mars to Table Challenge is about bringing all those pieces together into one comprehensive design.”

Solvers are tasked with creating a complete meal plan suitable for astronauts living on Mars, using a NASA-created mission scenario as their guide. Each team will design a full food system concept, including a detailed operations plan and system design layout that supports a surface mission. Teams must consider every detail – from nutritional balance and taste to safety, usability, and integration with NASA’s Environmental Control and Life Support Systems.

Participants in the Mars to Table Challenge are also encouraged to address food security on Earth. Innovative growth systems designed for space could make fresh food production possible in harsh, remote, or resource-limited areas, such as research stations located at Earth’s poles or in rural areas with limited access to traditional supply chains.

“This challenge isn’t just about feeding astronauts; it’s about feeding people anywhere,” said Jennifer Edmunson, acting program manager for NASA’s Centennial Challenges at NASA’s Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “Novel meals that are compact, shelf-stable, and nutrient-rich could expand culinary options for groups like military personnel or disaster relief responders. By solving for Mars and future planetary expeditions, we can also find solutions for Earth.”

NASA’s Centennial Challenges have a 20-year legacy of engaging the public to solve complex problems that benefit NASA’s broader initiatives. Past challenges have spurred advances in robotics, additive manufacturing, power and energy, textiles, chemistry, and biology.

Mars to Table is a collaborative, cross-program Centennial Challenge with support from NASA’s Division of Biological and Physical Sciences, Heliophysics Division, Planetary Science Program, Human Research Program, and Mars Campaign Office. Subject matter experts at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and Kennedy Space Center in Florida support the challenge. This challenge is part of the Prizes, Challenges and Crowdsourcing program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. NASA has partnered with the Methuselah Foundation and contracted Floor23 Digital to support the administration and management of this challenge. 

To learn more about the challenge, including timelines, submission requirements, and future webinar dates, visit:

https://www.deepspacefood.org/marstotable

By Savannah Bullard

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As NASA prepares for long-duration missions to the Moon that will pave the way for human exploration on Mars, the agency is tapping into America’s expanding space economy to help guide its strategic technology investments. This initiative, led by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate invites collaboration from U.S. industry leaders, academic institutions, and other government agencies to help prioritize critical technology development needs – known as shortfalls – identified for future science and exploration missions. 

“NASA wants to hear directly from the nation’s brightest minds to drive solutions for our greatest technology needs as we lead America’s exploration through the solar system,” said Greg Stover, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “As we pursue collaboration with industry to support our most ambitious missions and increase agility, prioritizing NASA’s technology efforts ensures the most efficient and impactful progress for the agency and its stakeholders.” 

Until Friday, Feb. 20, NASA will collect input from the aerospace community on consolidated technology shortfalls, such as developing infrastructure and capabilities for long-term operations in the lunar and Martian environments. Technology stakeholders will participate in virtual meetings, provide feedback, and submit their shortfall ranking to the agency.

This effort builds on NASA’s first shortfall ranking exercise in 2024 which asked participants to rank 187 civil space shortfalls, resulting in an integrated list of technology priorities. Based on the invaluable feedback provided by stakeholders in the first exercise, NASA has streamlined the process by consolidating the shortfalls into 32 broader, integrated categories, each addressing specific needs to provide further definition and context. This restructuring maintains the original content’s depth while creating a more efficient and accessible feedback mechanism for participants. 

NASA will analyze and aggregate the rankings to produce priority lists for each stakeholder group, which will be made publicly available for continued collaboration. This prioritization framework will guide NASA’s evaluation of current technology development efforts to identify necessary adjustments within its existing portfolios.

The shortfall prioritization process may inspire new investments within NASA or spark innovative partnerships with external stakeholders. This initiative also has the potential to unlock emerging commercial opportunities and accelerate growth in the U.S. space economy.

As NASA nears its next mission to the Moon, prioritizing the most important and impactful efforts helps NASA appropriately direct available resources to best support mission needs for the agency and the nation. To maintain this collaborative approach, STMD plans to conduct feedback sessions and workshops every three years with industry, academia, and other government agencies, creating a dynamic process that continuously incorporates stakeholder insights and end-user perspectives.

The agency remains committed to refining this engagement framework, ensuring it delivers maximum value to all participants while advancing America’s leadership in space exploration and technology development.

To review the list of technology shortfalls and add input to NASA Space Technology’s prioritization effort, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/spacetechpriorities

By: Jasmine Hopkins