Cultured meat technologies have been gaining momentum in recent years as a solution to food and nutritional shortages caused by the world's growing population. The market is expanding in Asia as well, and alternative meats such as soybean meat and complete nutritional diets can be found already in our daily lives. Research is being conducted by various food producers and manufacturers around the world, including in Japan, and new initiatives are being undertaken by startup companies.

In the spring of 2022, an experimental food tech project was also conducted on the International Space Station (ISS). During the mission, the space research team of Aleph Farms, an Israeli cultured meat company, looked into the effects of microgravity on two basic processes responsible for proliferation and differentiation of cow cells into the building blocks of steak.
Understanding the processes in such an extreme environment like space, will eventually allow companies to development of automated, closed-loop systems for producing steaks during long-term space missions.

At the same time, the investigations of Aleph Farms aim to use the results of their research to develop more sustainable and resilient food systems here on Earth.
Research on artificial meat (cultured meat) is also being conducted in Asia including Japan, and we may soon be able to eat steaks, beef bowls, fried noodles made from cultured beef.

This activity is an example of use case that the ICE Cubes Service can enable in microgravity, on the ISS. For more information on the service, click here.

●Source:
『Axiom-1 RAKIA - Cow cells orbit Earth for high steaks』
『ICE Cubes』