NASA IS OPENING DOORS TO COMMERCIAL SPACE
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NASA is opening the International Space Station for commercial business so U.S. industry innovation and ingenuity can accelerate a thriving commercial economy in low-Earth orbit.
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This move comes as NASA focuses full speed ahead on its goal of landing the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, where American companies also will play an essential role in establishing a sustainable presence.
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"to develop new flavors and properties for the food industry," the AP reported. The experiment also marked a shift by NASA, allowing for-profit business opportunities at the ISS and even private spaceflight, a trend which has only accelerated since 2019, according to the AP.
Scientific Research Growth
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Ages Quicker by Multiple Years
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Massive difference in Color & Aroma
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Vines Grow Quicker
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Aids research into the maturation process of wine, including how wine and grape vines adapt to new conditions and are affected on a molecular level (like less access to light, water, changing temperatures, humidity, radiationand a state of zero gravity)
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chemical change and testing (how does being in orbit effect sedimentation and bubbles of the aging process?)
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difference in taste happens at least in part because a particular reaction during the wine aging process on Earth, called convection, does not happen at zero gravity
Improving Wine Quality, Pricing & Culture
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The difference in taste happens at least in part because a particular reaction during the wine aging process on Earth, called convection, does not happen at zero gravity.
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Findings from the experiment could eventually be used to understand taste enhancement and flavor conservation here on Earth,
Positive Environmental Impact
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Climate change will require plants like grapes to adapt to harsh conditions. By understanding how grapes respond to weightlessness, scientists could help develop technology to grow more resilient plants on Earth.
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looks to space to make wine grape vines more resistant to climate change.
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Our goal is to tackle the solution of how we're going to have an agriculture tomorrow that is both organic and healthy and able to feed humanity, and we think space has the key," Nicolas Gaume, CEO and co-founder of Space Cargo Unlimited, told The Associated Press. -
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Everything from battery production, to additive manufacturing, to basic chemical and medical manufacturing has been tested in a microgravity environment. Microgravity can reduce the physical strain of gravity, most obviously, to make production of complex structures possible where it wouldn’t be on Earth. The unique environment, which also includes a much different radiation profile, also leads to unexpected variances in the growth and development of organic structures that, while they don’t occur naturally on Earth, can sometimes be replicated to achieve useful outcomes.
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The effects of microgravity have been studied using the ISS for years, but more affordable and frequent access to space has made it a much more promising commercial avenue for many companies and startups that previously wouldn’t have been able to justify the associated costs or time frames around the work. Space Cargo Unlimited is one of the companies that looks well-positioned to capitalize on this growing trend.
