Future Foods for Space

Overview

The TRISH SHIP Future Foods for Space (FFS) project was awarded in May 2024 and will support the development of a research ecosystem focused on the use of alternative proteins and cultivated meat to optimize nutrition and space health in low earth orbit and other resource-constrained environments. The collaborative project is jointly administered by the UC Davis Biotechnology Program and the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture (TUCCA)

Opportunities to Engage

During Year 1 of the award period, the FFS team will offer a virtual webinar series for UC Davis and Tufts University research faculty interested in learning more about the challenges and opportunities related to developing cultivated meat and alternative proteins for uses in space. The overarching goal of the FFS project is to bring new people and new ideas into the space health research arena. FFS participants will be introduced to research mentors working to develop similar technologies and invited to apply for seed grants to support pilot projects. At the close of Year 1, FFS participants will take part in a Research and Innovation Training Workshop at UC Davis. During Year 2, the webinar series will be offered for second time and pilot research will be carried out by funded investigators. We will highlight research outcomes at the closing symposium hosted by Tufts University in Spring 2026. 

Year 1 (2024 - 2025)

  • Future Foods for Space Educational Webinar Series
  • Future Foods for Space Mentorship Network
  • Future Foods for Space Research and Innovation Workshop (Summer 2025)

Year 2 (2025 - 2026)

  • Future Foods for Space New Investigator Pilot Research Projects
  • Future Foods for Space Research and Innovation Symposium (Spring 2026)

Resources

Award Acknowledgement

TRISH Logo
 
This work is supported by the Baylor College of Medicine's Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) - Space Health Ingress Program (SHIP) through NASA NNX16AO69A.