A SpaceX mission that will launch in the coming days will include an Australian-led experiment that could have serious ramifications for the future of space exploration.
The Fram 2 mission is scheduled to blast off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Monday and is set to make history by being the first human space flight to orbit the Earth’s polar regions.
But the crew is also trying to set achievement as they attempt to “fruit” mushrooms in space for the very first time.
Food and nutrition for lunar and Mars trips are among the top 30 priorities in NASA’s list of civil space challenges.
The mushrooms will be supplied by the Australian firm FOODiQ. The company's chief executive, Dr Flavia Fayet-Moore, described the oyster mushrooms as the perfect crop as they grow fast and can be eaten raw.
“Because we don’t have technology to process food in space yet … NASA is currently prioritising research into ‘grow, pick and eat’ crops – things like lettuce, tomatoes and mushrooms,” she said.
According to Fayet-Moore, they also contain a range of nutrients, including vitamin D and are easy to maintain.
“They don’t need a lot of inputs: they don’t need any special fertilisers, they don’t need a lot of water,” she said.
“They also have potassium that’s found in vegetables, but then they also have selenium and copper, which are typically found in nuts and seeds.
“It’s a very versatile example of a nutrient-dense food.”
Once Fram2 returns to earth, FOODiQ Global will analyse the mushrooms' nutritional content to see how microgravity impacted their growth in comparison to control kits stored in Florida.
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