Budweiser studies barley in space

BUDWEISER is performing experiments that will one day allow it to bring fresh beer to in outer space, particularly to a populated Mars. On the International Space Station this December, it will study how the key ingredient barley reacts in microgravity environments.

Budweiser’s innovation team together with CASIS* who manages the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory, and Space Tango, a payload development company that operates two commercial research facilities within the National Lab, will initiate two barley experiments via SpaceX’s upcoming cargo supply mission. Once on the International Space Station, Budweiser’s barley will stay in orbit for approximately one month before coming down to be analyzed.

“Budweiser is always pushing the boundaries of innovation and we are inspired by the collective American Dream to get to Mars,” said Ricardo Marques, vice president, Budweiser. “We are excited to begin our research to brew beer for the red planet.”

The research will unveil how the barley seeds react in a unique microgravity environment aboard the space station. One of the experiments will focus on barley seed exposure with the second testing barley germination. Not only will the research offer insights on steps to creating beer on the Red Planet, but it could also provide valuable information on the production of barley and the larger agricultural community here on earth.

Twenty Budweiser barley seeds will be sent to the International Space Station, packaged in two Space Tango CubeLabs™ on SpaceX’s CRS-13 mission. The seedlings will be in orbit for approximately 30 days, before being brought back down to earth for Budweiser’s innovation team to analyze – setting the foundation and blueprint for Budweiser’s next move in brewing the beer of the future.

*CASIS stands for Center for Advancement of Science in Space, a non-profit, non-government organization that acts as the manager of the research facility on the International Space Station, with a focus on enabling a new era of space research to improve life on Earth.