NASA is Printing Food Now, and They Are Starting With Pizza Because They are the Best

We always knew the dudes at NASA were rad, and now they've gone and proved it, by annoucing their plans to print a pizza.

NASA announced in Quartz this week that they are providing mechanical engineer Anjan Contractor $125K grant to build a prototype for a 3D printing machine that will allow for the production of edible 3D prints. The goal is to provide astronauts on long journeys with the ability to print their own food through an automated system, but the creators of the project also hope to use the technology to aid in ending world hunger, by dramatically reducing food waste.

How does it work? The plan breaks down food recipes into "building blocks" that can be replicated by powder, and loads the powder into cartridges. Similar to the millions of color variations possible with the four cartridges of a traditional printer, the 3D printer will make thousands of recipes a possibility, through combinations of powders. The creator has already printed chocolate, and now he's attempting to print a pizza.

Best part? The software for the prototype will be open-source, so developers have the ability to create their own technological recipes, and further innovate the already exciting project.

If you need me, I'll be in the lab, finding the "building blocks" for sour neon gummy worms.