Image Credit: Ninkasi Brewing
If you haven't heard...now you have: CSXT, Ninkasi Brewing and RapidMade have collaborated on a project to send yeast into space. That's right...SPACE BEER!! Now we love all of the work that we do, but this was definitely one of the more unique and interesting jobs we've had...
Ninkasi Brewing Company and the Civilian Space eXploration Team (CSXT) plan to launch a rocket into space this summer which includes a payload of 16 strains of brewer's yeast that can then be used to make beer that is literally "out of this world." The inaugural flight marks the establishment of the Ninkasi Space Program (NSP).
To help ensure the health of the yeast during its trip, Ninkasi asked RapidMade to collaborate on the container's design and manufacture.
"With almost a year of planning, NSP will finally get off the ground this month. Ninkasi’s lab technician, Dana Garves, and RapidMade, a Portland, Ore. company specializing in 3D printing, worked hand-in-hand to design and create a payload container built specifically to safely carry the 16 yeast strains into space and back to Earth for brewing—the first to do so."
“I couldn’t contain my excitement when I first heard of NSP,” says Garves. “We spent hours researching, developing and testing what we think will ensure that the yeast travels safely and returns to us healthy enough to brew with.”
We can't wait to raise our glasses to toast Ninkasi and CSXT's achievement.