Mission to boldly grow food in space labs blasts off

Steak, mashed potatoes and desserts for astronauts could soon be grown from individual cells in space if an experiment launched into orbit today is successful. A European Space Agency (ESA) project is assessing the viability of growing so-called lab-grown food in the low gravity and higher radiation in orbit and on other worlds. ESA is funding the research to explore new ways of reducing the cost of feeding an astronaut, which can cost up to £20,000 per day. The team involved say the experiment is a first step to developing a small pilot food production plant on the International Space...