NASA-Backed Project Turns Plastic Waste Into 3D-Printed Space Cookies

Researchers turn plastic bottles and corn waste into cookies for astronauts

A team at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is doing something that sounds like science fiction: turning PET plastic bottles and agricultural waste into protein-rich cookies using engineered yeast and 3D printing. The project, called µBites, is part of NASA's Deep Space Food Challenge, which seeks ways to feed astronauts on long-duration missions.

The process starts with oxidative hydrothermal dissolution. Water, oxygen, high temperature, and pressure break PET plastic and plant material into smaller molecules. Yeast strains then convert those compounds into biomass and flavor compounds. One strain produces vanillin for vanilla flavor. Another uses ethylene glycol from PET to create beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A.

The resulting mixture is loaded into a 3D food printer, which deposits it layer by layer to form small cookies. A final microwave pass sets the shape and texture. Dr. Lahiru Jayakody, who leads the project, has not yet eaten the cookies himself. The team is waiting on human testing approval before anyone takes a bite.

µBites did not win the Deep Space Food Challenge grand prize. That went to Interstellar Lab, whose controlled greenhouse system grows vegetables and insects in space. But NASA saw enough potential in the plastic-to-food approach to keep funding the research. The agency wants backup options that do not rely on resupply from Earth.

The idea of eating cookies made from recycled plastic may take some getting used to. Dr. Jayakody and his colleagues are still refining the recipe and evaluating consumer acceptance. If they succeed, they will have created a food source that solves two problems at once: what to do with plastic waste and what to feed astronauts on the way to Mars.