Product 10 of 14
Dried microbial packs that make carotenoids, riboflavin and folate when water is added.
Instead of shipping nutrients that degrade, On-Demand Nutrient Packs ship the means to make them. Each dried, shelf-stable pack contains microbes that produce carotenoids, riboflavin and folate when water is added.
The idea turns long-term storage from a chemistry problem, where the nutrient breaks down, into a biology problem, where the dormant microbe waits, then makes fresh nutrient on demand.
At concept stage, we are defining which organisms and processes are practical, how output is controlled, and how the finished nutrient is separated and verified safe to consume.
The problem
Mars plans need food that lasts 5 years, which current room-temperature space food does not reach.
Source: published spaceflight studies and NASA planning figures; refers to work by other groups.
Months of usable shelf life. Missions to Mars last years, with no resupply and no quick return home.
The science
Why this approach.
Rather than storing a fragile nutrient, this concept stores a dormant organism that can make it. Many microbes naturally produce carotenoids, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and folate, and their output can be increased by strain engineering. Dried and sealed, such a culture can wait for years and restart when water is added.
The open questions are practical: which organisms are safe and productive, how to control yield, how to separate the nutrient from the cells, and how to verify that what the crew consumes is clean and correct. The concept therefore treats quality control as a design requirement from the start.
In use
Across the length of a mission.
How this product is intended to fit into a crew's routine, from loading to return.
Dried packs stored dry with other supplies.
Hydrated on a schedule to make small batches of fresh nutrient.
A source of fresh nutrients when stored vitamins are weakest.
Packs are single-use; spent material is handled as waste.
Design
Four decisions that shape it.
Dormant producer microbes
Dried cultures that restart on rehydration.
Defined outputs
Carotenoids, riboflavin and folate, each with a quality check before use.
Containment
Sealed packs and a simple procedure to keep the process safe.
Low power
A process that works with minimal equipment.
Risks
What could go wrong, and what we do about it.
| Risk | How we address it |
|---|---|
| Output purity and safety | Verification and release testing before any use. |
| Strain stability after drying | Revival and yield studies after long storage. |
| Crew workload | Simple, low-step procedure designed for use in a busy schedule. |
Test plan
Ground, analog, orbit.
A staged programme: ground first, then analog crews, then flight.
Ground testing
Revival after long storage, output yield and purity.
Isolated-crew studies
Usability in analog settings.
Flight testing
Production experiment on a station.
Partnerships
Synthetic-biology and food-safety groups.
Questions
FAQ.
Is this safe to eat?
Safety verification is a core requirement; no product leaves the concept stage without it.
How is it different from vitamins?
The vitamins are made fresh from dried microbes rather than stored as a finished compound.
Related
Works well with.
Ferment-in-Space Starter Kit
Fresh yogurt and kefir on the journey, from dried cultures.
ConceptRead more02Stabilised Vitamin System
Encapsulated vitamins designed to hold potency through 5 years of storage.
In developmentRead more03On-Demand Peptide Library
Dried spores, each programmed to make one medicine on request within about 24 hours.
Research programmeRead moreAll products on this site are under research and development. They are not approved or cleared by any regulator and are not available for sale. Nothing here is medical advice, and no product is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Descriptions of research refer to published studies by other groups and do not claim that our products have been proven in space. On-Demand Nutrient Packs is a product under research and development and is not available for sale.
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