Ambitious research project hopes to brew ‘moon beer’

Is it possible to brew beer on the moon? We may soon have the answer to this pressing question, thanks to a team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego who have proposed an experiment that which would study the behavior of yeast on the lunar surface.

While the experiment will result in a freshly brewed batch of alcoholic beverages, the scientists from UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering aren’t just out to make space beer (which, in and of itself would be pretty cool). Rather, studying how yeast behaves on the moon is important for the development of various pharmaceuticals, as well as bread and similar foods.

The students, who have dubbed themselves “Team Original Gravity,” are one of 25 teams chosen from a group of several thousand to compete for a spot on an upcoming moon mission, according to Space.com. The contest organizers, Team Indus, are one of four groups that have a signed deal to send a spacecraft to the moon as part of the Google Lunar XPRIZE challenge competition.

“The idea started out with a few laughs amongst a group of friends,” Neeki Ashari, a fifth-year bioengineering student at the university and the team’s PR & Operations Lead, explained earlier this month in a statement.

“We all appreciate the craft of beer, and some of us own our own home-brewing kits,” she said. “When we heard that there was an opportunity to design an experiment that would go up on India’s moonlander, we thought we could combine our hobby with the competition by focusing on the viability of yeast in outer space.”

Experiment would lift off in December if selected

Ashari and her colleagues will actually begin their experiment before leaving for the moon, as they will prepare the “wort” or unfermented beer on Earth before departing. They also will not be separating the fermentation and carbonation phases of the brewing process, as most brewers do, but will instead combine them to eliminate the need to release accumulated CO2.

Doing so, the researchers explained, will help them avoid safety and sanitation issues, while also eliminating the possibility of over-pressurization and making the system easier to design. Finally, instead of using density measurements to test fermentation and yeast viability, Ashari’s team will be doing so using pressure, since density measurements depend on gravity.

“Converting the pressure buildup to fermentation progress is straightforward, as long as volume and original gravity – specific gravity before fermentation, hence our name – are known prior to the experiment,” explained Han Ling, a fifth year bioengineering undergraduate and the brewing lead for the project, which would be the first to ever attempt to brew beer in outer space.

If chosen, the experiment will be launch on December 28 onboard the Team Indus spacecraft. Team Indus  has signed a contract with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as part of their entry in the Google Lunar X Prize competition, according to Space.com, and is looking to take hope a $20 million grand prize by sending a robot to the moon, having it explore at least 1,640 feet (500 meters) and send back high-definition images and videos.

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Image credit: Team Indus

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