Can Beer Be Brewed on the Moon

Lastly, the testing of fermentation and yeast viability will be done via pressure, rather than using density measurements as done on Earth. This is because density measurements use 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,” said Han Ling, a fifth year bioengineering undergraduate and the team’s brewing lead.

Proposed experiments for the competition from all over the globe ranged from photosynthesis to electricity. They will be evaluated by an international jury in March when teams fly to Bangalore, India, to showcase their final prototype.

A brewery the size of a soda can

The spacecraft is owned by the Indian startup TeamIndus. The aerospace startup was one of four teams in the world to win a $1 million Milestone Prize for successfully simulating the landing technology concept of its spacecraft.

TeamIndus hopes to accelerate a human transition into a sustainable multi-planetary species. To that end, TeamIndus came up with a global challenge issued to students under age 25 to imagine, design and build a project to help accomplish that mission.

Siddhesh Naik, TeamIndus Ninja and mentor to Original Gravity said, “The yeast study is among the coolest experiments to be performed on the lunar surface, and I am sure they are one of the top contenders to win the Lab2Moon competition. Original Gravity is one of the most hardworking teams and very dedicated to their project.”

If UC San Diego’s Team Original Gravity is selected, not only will they be the first to brew beer in outer space, the students believe they’ll be the first to brew beer in a fermentation vessel the size of a soda can.

“Our canister is designed based on actual fermenters,” said Srivaths Kaylan, a fourth year nanoengineering major and mechanical lead for the team. “It contains three compartments—the top will be filled with the unfermented beer, and the second will contain the yeast. When the rover lands on the moon with our experiment, a valve will open between the two compartments, allowing the two to mix. When the yeast has done it’s job, a second valve opens and the yeast sink to the bottom and separate from the now fermented beer.”

When referring to the possibility of colonizing Mars, Ashari remarked, “It’s going to happen, and soon.”

Team Original Gravity also includes UC San Diego students Johnny Koo, Jared Buchanan, Sebastian Kaser, Clarissa Hoffman, Seth Choi, Jeff Cash and Tavish Traut.