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+--- Thread: Mars to Table Award (/showthread.php?tid=23993)
Mars to Table Award - HereOnThePrimalEdge - 09-27-2026
A group in Hilo won an award from NASA a few days ago, with their submission for developing a food system for astronauts on their way to Mars. Old ways lead the way to new ways:
ʻOhā Kanu from Hilo, Hawaii, is the creator of the "ʻOhā Kanu: An Ahupuaʻa-Inspired Food System for Mars," which recently won a $50,000 Applied Frameworks Award in NASA's Mars to Table Challenge.NASA announced the winners of this innovation contest on September 24, 2026. The challenge sought cutting-edge technologies and deep-space food system concepts capable of feeding astronauts on long-duration Mars missions.The Hilo-based design stands out by blending cultural knowledge with space-age logistics:
The Inspiration: The framework borrows its design from the traditional Hawaiian ahupuaʻa system—a highly sustainable, self-sufficient mountain-to-sea resource management model.
The Name: In the Hawaiian language, ʻohā refers to the offshoots of the kalo (taro) plant that regenerate life, while kanu means "to plant". Together, the name reflects a culturally rooted approach to sustaining human life in a closed-loop system far from Earth.
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/prizes-challenges-crowdsourcing-program/centennial-challenges/nasa-unveils-winning-designs-for-mars-space-food-systems-challenge/#:~:text=Additional%2520prizes%2520include%253A,Ahupua%CA%BBa%252DInspired%2520Food%2520System%2520for%2520Mars
RE: Mars to Table Award - MyManao - 09-27-2026
(09-27-2026, 12:40 AM)HereOnThePrimalEdge Wrote: A group in Hilo won an award from NASA a few days ago, with their submission for developing a food system for astronauts on their way to Mars. Old ways lead the way to new ways...
Wow, good for them! 'Tis a shame the article doesn't go into the details..
But, you know, I wonder just how likely it is we're really going to go to, and set up shop for the duration on, the Red Planet? I ran into, and seriously wonder about the veracity of, this article the other day, and oh my what a spin it puts on all this..