From waste to taste: astronaut dinner made by bacteria

ESA Discovery funding is helping Finnish startup Solar Foods explore a solution that involves feeding bacteria with waste gases. The technology already works on Earth – resulting in a powder that can be transformed into tasty, healthy dishes – but could it be extended to space?

Discovery & Preparation funds activities to gather knowledge in all areas of space technology and research. Through these activities, it supports other ESA directorates, as well as mapping out ESA's future. For a variety of ideas and inputs, Discovery & Preparation encourages small companies and universities to participate in these activities, as a new view on old problems often triggers astonishing results.