[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":121},["ShallowReactive",2],{"/stories/the-science-of-space-food":3,"processed-html-a89900d9":110,"processed-html-b3cb2a1b":111,"processed-html-a94f37b6":112,"processed-html-eca9e7a6":113,"processed-html-c16f89e3":114,"processed-html-3b4efbca":115,"processed-html-c0a28868":116,"processed-html-c1b26406":117,"processed-html-44be177d":118,"processed-html-492bf7aa":119,"processed-html-3958bb70":120},{"id":4,"type":5,"path":6,"published":7,"publishDate":8,"author":9,"taxonomy":10,"headerType":13,"image":14,"video":17,"title":19,"subtitle":11,"hideFromSearchEngines":11,"social":20,"bodyBlocks":24,"slug":11,"description":96,"metaDescription":97,"metaTitle":11,"relatedStories":98,"created":99,"changed":100,"breadcrumbs":101},"d8b4b3dc-7f7f-4c47-aaae-576b263f22fc","story","stories/the-science-of-space-food",true,"March 12, 2026","Ross Bishoff",{"name":11,"slug":12},null,"","image",{"url":15,"alt":16,"caption":16},"https://editing.intcomm.osu.edu/sites/default/files/styles/widescreen/public/media/image/2026/03/simunauts_1.jpg","Mehr Un Nisa, left, and Fuanyi Fobellah harvest plants grown as part of the NASA Simunauts project.",{"url":11,"transcript":18},{"text":11},"The science of space food",{"title":21,"description":22,"imageUrl":23},"Two Buckeyes, One NASA Mission","Food science students Mehr Un Nisa and Fuanyi Fobellah helped NASA test next‑generation space food technologies through Ohio State’s Simunauts team — turning curiosity and hands‑on research into once‑in‑a‑lifetime experience.\r\n","https://www.osu.edu/images/ohio-state-social-generic.jpeg",[25,32,38,44,54,60,66,72,78,84,90],{"blockName":26,"attrs":27,"innerBlocks":29,"innerHTML":30,"innerContent":31},"core/paragraph",{"uuid":28},"a89900d9",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">When Mehr Un Nisa first met with her Ohio State advisor, he asked her what her dream was. Her response? Work with NASA.\u003C/p>",[30],{"blockName":26,"attrs":33,"innerBlocks":35,"innerHTML":36,"innerContent":37},{"uuid":34},"b3cb2a1b",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">Maybe a bit off-beat considering she was studying food science and not, say, aerospace engineering. Only this being Ohio State, maybe outer space isn’t so out of reach?\u003C/p>",[36],{"blockName":26,"attrs":39,"innerBlocks":41,"innerHTML":42,"innerContent":43},{"uuid":40},"a94f37b6",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">Soon after that initial conversation, Nisa was hired for an important NASA research project: Testing out innovative food production technology for long-duration space missions.\u003C/p>",[42],{"blockName":45,"attrs":46,"innerBlocks":51,"innerHTML":52,"innerContent":53},"media-text/bux-quote",{"quote":47,"author":48,"source":49,"uuid":50},"\u003Cmeta charset=\"utf-8\">“I will always see Ohio State as the place where I achieved my dream.”","\u003Cmeta charset=\"utf-8\">Mehr Un Nisa","\u003Cmeta charset=\"utf-8\">Ohio State student in food science","eca9e7a6",[],"\u003Cbux-quote class=\"wp-block-media-text-bux-quote\">\u003Cspan slot=\"quote\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\">“I will always see Ohio State as the place where I achieved my dream.”\u003C/span>\u003Cspan slot=\"author\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\">Mehr Un Nisa\u003C/span>\u003Cspan slot=\"source\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\">Ohio State student in food science\u003C/span>\u003C/bux-quote>",[52],{"blockName":26,"attrs":55,"innerBlocks":57,"innerHTML":58,"innerContent":59},{"uuid":56},"c16f89e3",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“As a child, looking at all the magical things that happen in the stars, then learning what NASA does, it was all fascinating to me. Working with NASA became my childhood dream,” says Nisa, a graduate student in Ohio State’s Department of Food Science and Technology. “But before coming to Ohio State, I never thought food scientists could work with NASA. But Ohio State enabled me to do that.\u003C/p>",[58],{"blockName":26,"attrs":61,"innerBlocks":63,"innerHTML":64,"innerContent":65},{"uuid":62},"3b4efbca",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“I will always see Ohio State as the place where I achieved my dream.”\u003C/p>",[64],{"blockName":26,"attrs":67,"innerBlocks":69,"innerHTML":70,"innerContent":71},{"uuid":68},"c0a28868",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">Last summer, Nisa joined the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/prizes-challenges-crowdsourcing-program/centennial-challenges/meet-the-simunauts-ohio-state-students-to-test-space-food-solutions-for-nasa/\" class=\"bux-link\">Simunauts — simulation astronauts\u003C/a> — four Ohio State students from the \u003Ca href=\"https://cfaes.osu.edu/\" class=\"bux-link\">College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES)\u003C/a> hired as part of the final phase of NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge.\u003C/p>",[70],{"blockName":26,"attrs":73,"innerBlocks":75,"innerHTML":76,"innerContent":77},{"uuid":74},"c1b26406",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">Ohio State’s Simunaut team included Nisa; Charlie Frick, a senior majoring in animal sciences; Sakura Sugiyama ’24, a food science graduate; and Fuanyi Fobellah, a senior studying food business management.\u003C/p>",[76],{"blockName":26,"attrs":79,"innerBlocks":81,"innerHTML":82,"innerContent":83},{"uuid":80},"44be177d",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“It was incredible to contribute to a project like this,” Fobellah says. “Knowing I was helping NASA, helping these companies improve their technology, it was amazing going to work every day. It really inspired me, opened my eyes to the possibilities of what I could do with my degree.”\u003C/p>",[82],{"blockName":26,"attrs":85,"innerBlocks":87,"innerHTML":88,"innerContent":89},{"uuid":86},"492bf7aa",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">\u003Cstrong>Mehr Un Nisa on her Ohio State experience:\u003C/strong> “What makes Ohio State such a great institution is you don’t just get a great education, you get to apply what you learn. When I came here, I had the mindset of getting all the experiences I could because my long-term goal is to be a better food scientist through great research, and that’s what I got here. When I came to Ohio State, my dream was to one day work for NASA, but I didn’t really think it was possible. But because of my experiences here, it’s not just a dream, it’s a goal now. I’m one step closer.”\u003C/p>",[88],{"blockName":26,"attrs":91,"innerBlocks":93,"innerHTML":94,"innerContent":95},{"uuid":92},"3958bb70",[],"\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">\u003Cstrong>Fuanyi Fobellah on his Ohio State experience:\u003C/strong> “It was an amazing experience, working with NASA. Knowing each day we were contributing to a large project like this was a great feeling, something you looked forward to each day. I never thought I’d come to Ohio State and get to work on a project like this. But it inspired me, it opened my eyes to new opportunities, new areas I can apply my degree to one day.”\u003C/p>",[94],"Ohio State students Mehr Un Nisa and Fuanyi Fobellah served as Simunauts for NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge, testing innovative space food systems and discovering new possibilities for their futures in food science.","Food science students Mehr Un Nisa and Fuanyi Fobellah joined NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge as Ohio State Simunauts, testing innovative food production systems and gaining hands-on experience that brings them closer to their career dreams.",[],"2026-03-12T20:23:50+00:00","2026-03-23T19:22:48+00:00",[102,105,108],{"title":103,"path":104},"Home","/",{"title":106,"path":107},"Stories","/stories",{"title":19,"path":109},"/stories/the-science-of-space-food","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">When Mehr Un Nisa first met with her Ohio State advisor, he asked her what her dream was. Her response? Work with NASA.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">Maybe a bit off-beat considering she was studying food science and not, say, aerospace engineering. Only this being Ohio State, maybe outer space isn’t so out of reach?\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">Soon after that initial conversation, Nisa was hired for an important NASA research project: Testing out innovative food production technology for long-duration space missions.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cbux-quote class=\"wp-block-media-text-bux-quote\">\u003Cspan slot=\"quote\">“I will always see Ohio State as the place where I achieved my dream.”\u003C/span>\u003Cspan slot=\"author\">Mehr Un Nisa\u003C/span>\u003Cspan slot=\"source\">Ohio State student in food science\u003C/span>\u003C/bux-quote>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“As a child, looking at all the magical things that happen in the stars, then learning what NASA does, it was all fascinating to me. Working with NASA became my childhood dream,” says Nisa, a graduate student in Ohio State’s Department of Food Science and Technology. “But before coming to Ohio State, I never thought food scientists could work with NASA. But Ohio State enabled me to do that.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“I will always see Ohio State as the place where I achieved my dream.”\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">Last summer, Nisa joined the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/prizes-challenges-crowdsourcing-program/centennial-challenges/meet-the-simunauts-ohio-state-students-to-test-space-food-solutions-for-nasa/\" class=\"bux-link\">Simunauts — simulation astronauts\u003C/a> — four Ohio State students from the \u003Ca href=\"https://cfaes.osu.edu/\" class=\"bux-link\">College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES)\u003C/a> hired as part of the final phase of NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">Ohio State’s Simunaut team included Nisa; Charlie Frick, a senior majoring in animal sciences; Sakura Sugiyama ’24, a food science graduate; and Fuanyi Fobellah, a senior studying food business management.\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">“It was incredible to contribute to a project like this,” Fobellah says. “Knowing I was helping NASA, helping these companies improve their technology, it was amazing going to work every day. It really inspired me, opened my eyes to the possibilities of what I could do with my degree.”\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">\u003Cstrong>Mehr Un Nisa on her Ohio State experience:\u003C/strong> “What makes Ohio State such a great institution is you don’t just get a great education, you get to apply what you learn. When I came here, I had the mindset of getting all the experiences I could because my long-term goal is to be a better food scientist through great research, and that’s what I got here. When I came to Ohio State, my dream was to one day work for NASA, but I didn’t really think it was possible. But because of my experiences here, it’s not just a dream, it’s a goal now. I’m one step closer.”\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>","\u003Chtml>\u003Chead>\u003C/head>\u003Cbody>\u003Cp class=\"bux-paragraph\">\u003Cstrong>Fuanyi Fobellah on his Ohio State experience:\u003C/strong> “It was an amazing experience, working with NASA. Knowing each day we were contributing to a large project like this was a great feeling, something you looked forward to each day. I never thought I’d come to Ohio State and get to work on a project like this. But it inspired me, it opened my eyes to new opportunities, new areas I can apply my degree to one day.”\u003C/p>\u003C/body>\u003C/html>",1776431685646]