By David Bullock
Staff Writer

Fresh food is one item that astronauts aboard the International Space Station crave after long periods in space. But, supply ships from Earth only arrive ever few months, and food doesn’t stay fresh for very long. The problem will be even more acute for astronauts on long-duration missions to the moon and Mars.

Aleph Farms is working to solve part of the problem by developing technology that would allow future space explorers to grow their own steaks from bovine cells. The Israeli company is sending an experiment to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on Friday that will help scientists better understand how to grow the cells.

A view from martian orbit. (Credit: SpaceX)

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Since Elon Musk unveiled his Big [Expletive] Rocket (BFR) in Adelaide last month, there has been a lot of analysis of the engineering aspects. Musk’s Ask Me Anything session on Reddit was an engineer’s dream, with the billionaire providing detailed answers about the Raptor engines, thrust to weight ratios and a host of other technical issues.

Amid all the technical talk, there has been little attention paid to what a giant leap this venture is for Musk, SpaceX and possibly the entire human race. Not only will BFR be larger and more powerful than any other rocket ever built, the audacious things Musk wants to do with it – ranging from point to point transportation on Earth to satellite delivery to sending colonists to the moon and Mars – are on a scale never before attempted. They are certainly beyond anything contemplated by the world’s space agencies.

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