NASA's 3D printer makes pizzas for astronauts

Reuters

Washington: An Indian-origin engineer claims to have developed a 3D printer that can print food and pizza for astronauts on long missions.

Mechanical engineer Anjan Contractor won a $125,000 grant by NASA last year to build a prototype 3D printer designed to provide astronauts a nutritious and comforting alternative to the canned and freeze-dried prepackaged foods they are currently stuck with.

According to Fastcoexist.com, Contractor's goal was to print a pizza with his 3D printer - and it looks like he has succeeded.

The printer would be able to lay out all the starches, proteins, fats, texture, and structure, spraying on flavour, smell, and micro-nutrients at the end, Contractor from Texas-based Systems & Materials Research Corporation said.

In his YouTube page, Contractor said that it took about 70 seconds to cook the pizza after the 3D printer finished doing its thing.