To give astronauts better food, engineers test a fridge prototype in microgravity
Note to journalists: A video of the researchers testing their fridge design in microgravity is available on YouTube. Additional footage and photos of the experiments aboard the ZERO-G flights are available via Google Drive. Journalists visiting campus should follow visitor health guidelines.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Astronauts have been going to space since 1961, but they still don’t have a refrigerator to use for keeping food cold on long missions to the moon or Mars.
Through experiments conducted in microgravity, a team of engineers from Purdue University, Air Squared Inc., and Whirlpool Corporation has shown that a prototype they developed could potentially overcome the challenges of getting a traditional fridge to work in space just as well as it does on Earth.
One of the main challenges of space travel has been food storage. While mankind has been sending people to space as early as 1961, there has never been any refrigerator to keep food cold and fresh during long missions.
Prototype refrigerator for use in microgravity undergoes testing
Shane McGlaun - May 28, 2021, 6:29am CDT
One of the biggest challenges in long-term space exploration is a source of food for astronauts. While humans have been traveling in space since the 1960s, the way food is stored hasn’t changed much. In particular, food is still typically freeze-dried, and there is no refrigerator to help things last.
A team of engineers from Purdue University, Air Squared Inc., and Whirlpool Corporation is at work on a prototype refrigerator that can operate in microgravity. The research could overcome a challenge that has faced engineers in getting a standard refrigerator to work in space, as well as it does on earth. Astronauts currently eat canned and dried food with a shelf life of about three years.
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VIDEO: Standard refrigerators use vapor compression to cool down your food. But in space, there is no gravity to keep vapors and liquids secure. Purdue researchers have worked with NASA, Air. view more
Credit: Alain Bucio/Air Squared Inc., ZERO-G (www.gozerog.com), Purdue University
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Astronauts have been going to space since 1961, but they still don t have a refrigerator to use for keeping food cold on long missions to the moon or Mars.
Through experiments conducted in microgravity, a team of engineers from Purdue University, Air Squared Inc., and Whirlpool Corporation has shown that a prototype they developed could potentially overcome the challenges of getting a traditional fridge to work in space just as well as it does on Earth.
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. â For astronauts to go on long missions to the moon or Mars, they ll need a refrigerator.
But todayâs fridges arenât designed to work in zero gravity â or upside down if oriented that way when a spacecraft lands on another planet.
A team of engineers from Purdue University, Air Squared Inc., and Whirlpool Corporation is working on building a fridge for zero gravity that operates in different orientations and just as well as the one in your kitchen, giving astronauts access to longer-lasting and more nutritious food.
In May, the team will test their fridge design on Zero Gravity Corporationâs (ZERO-G) unique weightless research lab. The only testing space of its kind in the United States, the specially designed plane will fly in microgravity dozens of times â for 20-second intervals â during each of four flights. Data from these flights, which are supported by NASAâs Flight Opportunities program,