ABOUT US
Our purpose is to further the advance of science through revolutionary new manufacturing techniques such as 3D-printing, striving to better the conditions of current astronauts in orbit on the International Space Station as well as finding a long term solution for more extensive space travel. Thus to remedy the current problems associated with food aboard spacecraft, we have devised a possible solution involving additive layering of organic and inorganic materials including foodstuffs.
Since the amount of vitamins and nutrients an astronaut needs varies, and with the current system in place to combat nutritional deficiency is using an arbitrary amount of supplements, we have proposed a new way that is more personalized. Through weekly blood tests aboard the ISS, scientists and dietricians back on Earth can analyze the reults of the blood work and then input the exact amount of a vitamin and a mineral that an astronaut needs to meet healthy levels. With this data, the software on the printer can then tell the printer to extrude a certain amount of vitamins and minerals based on the astronaut's needs into the mixing chamber with a flavor and taste of the astronaut's choice, such as sweet, sour, spicy, fruity, or salty, etc. However, the software of the printer will take into account the maximum intake of these vitamins and minerals so as not to give the astronaut an overdose, and will administer them accordingly over a period of time.
Our main goal is to better the lives of the astronauts currently living on the ISS. While in orbit, astronauts experience many nutrient deficiencies as well as much bone less, even when they are eating the right amount of food and taking vitamin supplements. However, when an astronaut starts eating less due to depression or the dampening of their taste buds due to micro gravity thus making food unpalatable, will lead to an even greater deficit in nutrition. Our goal is to fight these nutrient deficiencies in astronauts by having a 3D printer print out personalized doses on a weekly basis of the right amount of nutrients for the astronaut to counteract his or her deficiencies. This will be achieved through a printer with multiple spindles of vitamins and minerals that are then mixed together in a mixing chamber and are then extruded in gelatin form. The astronaut will then eat this gel that can be in any form to counteract the nutrient deficiencies he or she is experiencing.
While astronauts do have a wide array of foods to pick from aboard the ISS, they eventually start craving foods that we take for granted, such as fresh fruit and vegetables. Furthermore, the monotony of the prepackaged and freeze-dried foods aboard the ISS coupled with the caustic conditions of living in such an artificial and confined space can cause many astronauts to miss home on mother Earth and become depressed. In order to combat these negative emotions and psychological conditions arising from spending a long time in orbit, we are offering a personalized and "down to Earth" method to improve the mental states of astronauts by printing our nutrient-rich gels in the shape of whatever will make the astronauts happy. This can range from gels in the shape of fruits such as strawberries or even a model ISS or space shuttle, where the files for these can be found on such sites like Thingiverse.
Our method of additive layering produces a product that is gelatin based, and allows for each subsequent layer to stick on in a micro gravity environment. Additionally, it doesn't produce any crumbs or droplets of liquid that could potentially present a hazard to the surrounding eqipment or crew members, or produce an odor. Additionally, different textures can be created by adjusting the density of the build as well as the layer infill. This would allow for either very chewy or gooey textures, as well as others to give the astronauts on board the ISS some variety. In addition to the various mineral and vitamin spindles, there are also filaments based on different artificial flavors and tastes with colors, such as fruit including strawberries, grapes, and citrus. This would allow the astronaut to choose what flavor they want as well as taste which range from very spicy to very sour or sweet to stimulate the dampened taste buds of astronauts.
Based on SMRC's cartidge system for their 3D printer, we decided that cartidges either made of hard plastic or plastic packets consumed too much space, and that creating filaments of various vitamins and minerals in solid form for food printing would be far more efficient and reusuable. These filaments, similar to PLA or ABS plastic filament , would allow larger amounts of solid minerals and vitamins to be stored, since they would be wound around hundreds of times around a space-conserving spindle allowing for many personalized doses rather than just a single dosage that produces several packets of waste for each print, or a hefty cartridge that is only good for several uses. Furthermore, each spindle would be dedicated to a single vitamin or mineral, which would then be mixed together in a mixing chamber according to the astronuat's dietary intake requirements. Not only does this allow for more doses, but it also completely rids waste since a precise amount of vitmains and nutrients would only be printed based on the astronaut's needs which are determined through blood tests. In addition to having filaments of vitamins and minerals, we also want to incorporate an interchangeable artificial flavor filament that would allow the astronaut to choose what they want their supplement to taste like. This system would in turn allow for ten micro spindles which don't necessarily have to be adjacent to the printer since the filaments can be run from the storage bay to the printer. Also, with only ten spindles, one would be dedicated for artificial flavoring and taste, while the other nine would contain fundamental vitamins and nutrients such as vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K, Calcium, Zinc, and Chromium. These plus the individual flavor spindles are all in solid form, and these are then extruded into the mixing chamber in certain amounts allotted by the software. Here heat is applied and all of these vitamins and minerals are mixed together with the artificial flavor, and are then extruded in gel form on the building platform. Due to the stickiness of the gelatin, each layer is glued onto the previous one, and this doesn't produce a hazard through crumbing or creating liquid droplets. Also, with the properties of gel, each layer would be several hundred mircons thick, thus allowing for different textures as well as precision. Through this process we expect to create gelatin-based vitamin and mineral supplements personalized for each astronaut aboard the ISS.
All of the software is found within the printer. However, each astronaut must do a blood test, and the data and results from it must be studied by scientists and nutritionists back on Earth. Then they uplink the specific amount of inerals and vitamins that each astronaut needs to combat their deficiency. This information is then read by the printer which then prints out the personalized supplements according to the readings. Essentially, the software on the printer knows what to print and how to print it.
Increasing Nutrient Intake
Personalized Readings and Doses
Bringing Home Closer
Redefining Taste and Texture
Hardware Solution
Software Solution
Global Applications
This idea goes greatly beyond NASA or the ISS, as it is estimated that Earth will reach it's peak populatiuon of 12 billion people at the end of this century; we truly have an Interstellar type senario headed our way, especially considering the water and food shortages already occuring in certain areas of the globe. However, unlike being stuck with eating solely corn, people would be able to eat foods, or a food, that tastes something as great as a hamburger, while being extremely healthy. Creating the ability to boost the nutrients in an ingredient or more, while being able to alter its taste changes the entire playing field, creating meals that will be both tastier and healthier as ever, while using a far less amount of ingredients. In addition, the ability to 3D print and design foods internationally allows for thousands of recipes to be availabe to the user, all which would be compatible with with a universal set of filament. For the nutrients aspect, foods can be boosted with vitamins and minerals, and potentially medicine, to provide people the required amount of nutrients they need while potentially preventing or curing diseases. For the taste aspect, new types of filament can be created to parallel the taste of the actual food item. Whatever the combination of the three main filaments: taste, ingredient(s), and nutrients/medication, this practice would severely cut back on the amount of food (ingredients) that are currently being used to feed the world's population, while providing a healthier solution without sacrificing taste, as well as expanding it to new levels, thus creating a possible solution to world hunger.
