NASA's BioNutrients Project: Pioneering On-Demand Nutrient Production for Space Missions

NASA's BioNutrients project is advancing the development of on-demand nutrient production systems to support astronaut health during extended space missions. By utilizing engineered microorganisms, this initiative aims to address the degradation of essential nutrients in pre-packaged foods over time, a significant challenge for long-duration space travel.

The project employs a biomanufacturing approach similar to traditional fermentation processes, such as yogurt production, to generate specific nutrients in required quantities. This method ensures astronauts can produce fresh, essential nutrients during extended missions, reducing reliance on Earth-based resupply.

Launched in April 2019 aboard NASA's Northrop Grumman 11th commercial resupply services (CRS-11) mission, BioNutrients-1 was a five-year experiment designed to assess the stability and performance of a handheld system—referred to as a production pack—that utilizes engineered yeast to produce vitamins on demand. The experiment concluded in January 2024, with spare production packs remaining aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Building upon the success of BioNutrients-1, BioNutrients-2 introduced improvements to the nutrient production system. This phase focused on expanding the range of microbial food sources and optimizing hardware design by transitioning from a hard-shell pack to a flexible fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) bag, reducing mass and volume. BioNutrients-2 also tested the production of fresh foods such as yogurt and kefir.

In March 2025, NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams conducted additional tests using the spare production packs from BioNutrients-1 on the ISS. This extended the study's timeline to nearly six years in orbit, providing valuable data on the long-term stability and performance of the nutrient production system in microgravity. The results from these experiments are intended to inform the development of BioNutrients-3, which completed an analog astronaut study in April 2024 and is scheduled to launch to the ISS later this year.

"Demonstrating that NASA can produce nutrients after at least five years in space provides confidence it will be capable of supporting crewed missions to Mars," said a NASA spokesperson.

By enabling on-demand production of essential nutrients, the BioNutrients project addresses the challenge of nutrient degradation in pre-packaged foods over time. This capability is crucial for the health and performance of astronauts on long-duration missions, reducing reliance on Earth-based resupply and enhancing mission sustainability.

The technology developed for the BioNutrients project could be applied to produce nutrients and medicines in remote or resource-limited areas on Earth, improving health outcomes in underserved communities.

NASA's BioNutrients project represents a pioneering advancement in space nutrition, demonstrating the feasibility of on-demand nutrient production using microorganisms. As the agency prepares for longer missions, such as those to Mars, this technology offers a sustainable solution to maintaining astronaut health and has potential applications for improving nutrition in remote areas on Earth.