ITALIAN DESIGN DAY 2022
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 12:00 NOON
Webinar will be held online via Zoom
LESSONS LEARNED FROM SPACE FOOD PRODUCTION SYSTEMS FOR IMPROVED FOOD SECURITY ON EARTH
A Webinar with Architect and Engineer Valentina Sumini
Humanity is evolving towards a multi-planetary future.
One of the main challenges in human space exploration is sustainability, since long-duration missions on other planetary bodies will require a high level of autonomy from planet Earth and the possibility to retrieve all fundamental life resources directly in situ.
The need for efficient use of volume, water, and other inputs for producing food could enable technologies with reduced impact on the resources needed for food production here on Earth, especially in extreme environments and resource-scarce regions. In addition to crops production, there are other advanced food systems that warrant exploration as they can also potentially address some of the challenges of terrestrial and space-based food systems.
The Space Meal Solution is a food production strategy, designed in partnership between COESIA S.p.A. and Pastificio RANA S.p.A., that identifies hydroponics and aeroponics systems as sources to produce the ingredients for customized, balanced, nutritious, and palatable meals based on the Mediterranean diet. The food processing system is based on automated and integrated engineered solutions focusing on automation, from blending to cooking, with the goal to easily produce space meals through the Engineered Space Kitchen (E.S.K.). The crops processing, the meal preparation and preservation are designed to minimize time, water and energy consumption and optimize human-centred design for the crew by building a collaborative environment that combines assessed and innovative food processing and cooking technologies.
Indeed, designing new space food systems, while preserving and enhancing our culinary arts, offers a solution to the scarcity of resources and sustainability on our planet…a wonderful spaceship travelling across the universe.
The 5th edition of the “Italian Design Day” is presented in Vancouver by the Consulate General of Italy in cooperation with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Canada-West, after a worldwide initiative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in collaboration with MiBACT, MISE, ICE Agenzia, Confindustria, Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (ADI), Fondazione ADI-Compasso d'Oro, Federlegno Arredo, Salone del Mobile Milano and Triennale Milano.
Valentina Sumini, Ph.D., architect and engineer, investigates innovative computational design techniques with special regard to space applications, both for architectural and technological solutions. She is Research Affiliate at MIT Media Lab, within Space Exploration Initiative and Responsive Environments and Visiting Professor at Politecnico di Milano where she lectures the course “Architecture for Human Space Exploration” – the course, in the current Academic Year, has become a collaborative classroom with the MIT Media Lab Webinar Series “Design Exploration: towards a Moon Architecture.” Since 2020, she has been R&D Specialist within COESIA Engineering Center and Coordinator of COESIA Innovation Hub, where she analyzes and develops new activities with high sustainability and technological impacts.
Register for free for the online webinar HERE
