Saturday, February 1, 2014

A Mechanical Engineer makes a 3D printer for NASA which makes pizzas for astronauts


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




Mechanical engineer Anjan Contractor won a $125,000 grant by NASA last year to build a prototy 3D printer designed to provide astronauts a nutritious and comforting alternative to the canne 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 starch 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.

How 3D Pizza Printer Works:
It combines water and oil with the powdered ingredients before sending what could be classified as “food goop” onto a heated tray. The tray then heats the dough, sauce and cheese substances to create a miniature cheese pizza.