A group of students from the University of California have proposed using an Indian spacecraft to test whether beer can be brewed on the moon. The fact is that the company TeamIndus, which is competing for the Google Lunar X Prize before the end of this year, which is participating in the construction of an Indian spacecraft, has announced a competition to conduct experiments on the moon. The California proposal became one of 3 thousand and went to the final of the competition along with 24 more applications.
The main difference between 'moon' brewing is the combination of the first fermentation and secondary fermentation steps. The experimental tank, in which the moon beer is to be brewed, is divided into three compartments. The first should have an unfermented base, the second should contain yeast. After the spacecraft lands on the lunar surface, the contents of the compartments will mix. The third compartment will then open to allow the yeast to settle.
“The idea started as a joke among a group of friends,” team member Niiki Ashari said in a statement. “We all understand the craft of brewing and some of us own our own homebrew kits. When we heard there was an opportunity to design an experiment that would go on India's moon rover, we thought we could combine our hobby with the competition by focusing on the viability of yeast in outer space. '
Students are confident that having learned more about the process of beer fermentation in space, they could figure out how to create bread and other yeast products under lunar conditions, which will undoubtedly come in handy in the event of long space travel.
However, if their experiment is carried out, it will not be the first time alcohol has been in space or even on the moon. So NASA astronaut Baz Aldrin during the Apollo 11 mission before drinking wine and bread on the moon said the following words:
'I would like to ask for a few minutes of silence … and invite each person to just listen, wherever and whoever they are, pause for a moment, reflect on the events of the past few hours and thank fate.'
Sources: mashable
