Reimaging Space Food with Aquatic-Derived Ready-to-Print Formulations

Creative Commons License

Gürün G., Çetinkaya T.

2ⁿᵈ International Food Innovation and Sustainability Congress, İstanbul, Türkiye, 07 Mayıs 2026, (Özet Bildiri)

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Basıldığı Şehir: İstanbul
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
  • Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Space foods are designed to meet the crew's nutritional requirements and maintain their well-being during missions. Microgravity, radiation, and low atmospheric pressure, along with waste and storage management in a very limited area, push the limits of traditional food production. Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an additive manufacturing technology in which liquid or semi-solid formulations consisting of edible components are transformed into solid foods of various shapes and sizes by adding them layer by layer through a nozzle. If the function of 3D-printed food can change in response to stimuli such as time and heat, it is redefined as 4D-printed food. They are dry-printed, expand upon rehydration to become ready for consumption, or become palatable through thermally triggered gelation. On the other hand, multi-axial 5D-printed foods are not prioritized for robust, adjustable porosity intrinsic microstructures. 6D-printed foods, which highlight the time-dependent functionality of multi-input smart geometric structures, aim to effectively release active biological ingredients from the printed food into the gastrointestinal system through encapsulation. 7D-printed foods, with biomarkers embedded in their formulations, facilitate simultaneous health-status monitoring in settings where medical services are limited. In all printing systems, bioink is a key component that determines both the printability and the nutritional and functional value of food. Algae-based bioinks contain omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and bioactive peptides, enabling the design of printed foods that are strategically engineered to address key physiological challenges in space conditions. For instance, calcium and protein-dense bioinks to counteract muscle atrophy and bone loss under low gravity, astaxanthin abundant bioinks to mitigate radiation-induced oxidative stress, and peptide-based bioinks to support circadian rhythm regulation and psychological health of crew in a closed-loop life support system. Consequently, algae-based bioinks can reshape space nutrition from static, pre-packaged supplies into dynamic, functional, and personalized ones that are also sensory-acceptable.