There are a lot of people thinking about the practical issues of living in and exploring space on a long term basis. And the good news is that the answers they develop may also benefit people on earth.

NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge is a unique collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency, and prizes were awarded in parallel in the second phase of the context earlier this year to American, Canadian, and international teams.

The challenge is one of NASA’s Centennial Challenges, within its Space Technology Mission Directorate. NASA, in partnership with the Methuselah Foundation, manages the U.S. and international competitors; the CSA manages the Canadian competition.

The idea is that as NASA prepares to send astronauts farther into the solar system than ever before, it needs food systems that can fortify future crews in deep space for years at a time. The challenge is to create technologies to help feed astronauts on future long-term space missions.