Meat Growing In Space: A New Invention By Aleph Farms
It is not unknown that Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are desperately trying to colonize space. At the same time, NASA is also looking forward to new projects to take people from earth to survive on the rusty surface of Mars.
However, the biggest concern still remains and that is food. Even if humans are able to build colonies on Moon, Mars, or any other planet; what are they going to it?
There are already a plethora of experiments conducted in order to whether plants can survive on other planets than earth.
Similarly, a new test is being conducted to find out whether meat cells can be grown in space or not. The greater initiative is just a small pilot step toward the unknown future of space-traveling living on other planets.
A group of experts took a big lead through this test in order to find a potential source for nutrients just like meat.
The concept was first dreamt of by the Aleph Farms, a well-revered Israeli company that specializes in growing meat from cells through culturing them. The company is a part of the mission were the first all-private astronaut team is going to visit the international space station.
Many are suggesting that growing meat cells are never easy than sending food products from the earth. However, lab-grown meat can be considered the the pillar of future.
Creating cultured meat is never an easy option even on earth and conducting those experiments in space will be a challenging factor for many.
Usually, lab-grown meat is made by extracting meat cells from cows or any other animal, to get meat without killing an animal. These cells are treated with carbohydrates and amino acids to let them grow where muscle tissues multiply in numbers. It takes the final form of meat that you desire to eat. The process is known as ‘Proliferation’ or ‘cultivation’ to be precise.
As a result, the death of an animal can be avoided and the complete life cycle of an animal stays intact by bypassing it through cultivation.
The head of Aleph Farms’ space program, Zvika Tamari said, “We know from many previous scientific studies that physiology and biology behave very differently in a microgravity environment… So, we actually don’t know, nobody knows, if these processes of cultivation of meat proliferation can actually occur in space.”
On April 8, around four men were sent to the International Space Station via SpaceX rocket on a private mission to grow cells in zero gravity. They also took a box full of different animal cells to find a conclusion.
“If bacteria or fungus were to get into the culture it would grow much faster from animal cells and it will just take over so you aren’t making the animal cells anymore. You’re making bacteria. And you have to throw it away,” says David Humbird, a chemical engineer at Berkeley.
Proceeding to the coming future, the Aleph Farm is looking forward to brighter days ahead.
