A 3D printing machine that works with basic nutrients instead of inedible materials to create meals for human consumption??
Last week we had lab-grown burgers; this week it’s powdered pizza. NASA’s gotten in on the synthesized food action by awarding a $125,000 grant to Anjan Contractor, head of Systems & Materials Research Corporation, to develop a 3D food printer.
The first device Contractor plans to build under the six-month grant is based on RepRap’s open-source hardware and will be designed to print a pizza comprised of three layers of nutritional powders mixed with water and oil.
As the final frontier gets further and further away, NASA’s need for a nutritious, long-lasting food supply suitable for space travel grows. Since the powders used in Contractor’s design — potentially sourced from insects, grass and algae — have a shelf life of about 30 years, his 3D food printer would be well-suited to the task.
So what sort of food might a 3D printer spit out? Contractor told the site that pizza is one of the simplest dishes to prepare “because it can be printed in distinct layers, so it only requires the print head to extrude one substance at a time.” He said he would begin building a “pizza printer” in the next couple of weeks.
IS YOUR APPETITE UP FOR IT?? 🙂 Please comment below. 😀
Source: Engadget.com