Astronauts in space will soon start feasting on their own waste

The problem of running out of food has always been a concern for astronauts but researchers have come for their rescue by coming up a solution that might let astronauts feast on their own waste.

When astronauts are up in space, there are limited food resources. A trip to Mars back and forth, for example, takes months or even years and astronauts often run out of food. Thus, researchers have figured out this disgusting, yet useful alternative, to make food from their own waste.

Previously astronauts used to recycle their own liquid waste to turn it into drinking water. Now, researchers from Penn State University created a system through which solid human waste is converted to something edible along with being nutritious as well.

According to BGR, a professor at Penn State, Christopher House explained, “We envisioned and tested the concept of simultaneously treating astronauts’ waste with microbes while producing a biomass that is edible either directly or indirectly depending on safety concerns.”

New nano-material made to protect astronauts in space

In order to break the waste down, microbes would be applied to it. These microbes digest the waste producing a huge quantity of methane gas. The gas is then used to grow another type of bacteria named ‘Methylococcus capsulatus’ that is already being used today as animal feed, reported Huffington Post. These microbes are 52% protein and 36% fat and a good source for the long distance space travelers.

The newly developed method is not only efficient but also is much faster than any other methods used for growing foods.