NASA-Backed Project Turns Plastic Waste Into 3D-Printed Space Cookies

Turning plastic bottles into astronaut snacks

A team at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is asking whether the plastic waste and agricultural byproducts we cannot easily recycle on Earth could become food on a Mars mission. The project, called µBites, is backed by NASA's Deep Space Food Challenge and uses 3D printing to turn those raw materials into small, edible cookies.

The process starts with PET plastic and plant-based waste. Researchers apply oxidative hydrothermal dissolution, a technique that uses water, oxygen, high temperature, and pressure to break those materials into smaller molecules. Yeast strains then convert those compounds into protein-rich biomass. One strain produces vanillin for vanilla flavor. Another uses ethylene glycol from PET to make beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A.

How the cookies get their shape

Once the ingredients are ready, the team mixes them with fiber, starch, and sweeteners. A 3D food printer deposits the mixture layer by layer to form the small µBites cookies. A microwave heats them to set the final texture.

The project remains experimental. The team is still refining the cookie composition and scaling the microbial production of ingredients. Human testing has not started yet. Dr. Lahiru Jayakody, who leads the project, told The Guardian he has not eaten the cookies himself while awaiting approval.

Why this matters for long missions

A round-trip to Mars could last three years. Carrying enough food for that duration adds significant mass and volume to the spacecraft. Projects like µBites explore whether crew members could manufacture nutrients from waste streams already present on board or available at a destination. If plastic packaging and inedible plant material can become cookie dough, the resupply burden shrinks.