Trio of Triangle scientists form Cosmic Eats, win NASA Deep Space Food Challenge

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Three Triangle scientists are celebrating an out-of-this-world win in NASA's Deep Space Food Challenge. Dr. Sheetal Shah, Angel Turner, and Dr. Marvin Moncada formed a team calling themselves Cosmic Eats to enter the competition.

NASA's Deep Space Food Challenge is an international public competition to create novel food production technologies or systems that require minimal inputs and maximize safe and nutritious food for long-duration space missions and have the potential to benefit people on Earth.

Cosmic Eats is one of 18 teams to win Phase One of the competition.

"Our concept is a food production system that can be used onboard spacecraft," Shah explained. "So, our production system consists of three modules that are based on growing plants, growing algae, and growing fungi.

You can have a cosmic taco that's made out of plants, algae, and fungi," Shah added. "So, combined in a way to make a really cool, very nutritious, and very interesting food product for crew members or you can make a cosmic smoothie."

Cosmic Eats will be featured when NASA airs a show on NASA tv, the NASA App and the website on the Deep Space Food Challenge at 11 a.m. on Nov. 9. Special guests include celebrity chef Martha Stewart and retired NASA astronaut Scott Kelly.