NASA News, Features and Highlights: NASA Uses Indian Contractor's 3D Printer to Make Pizzas in Space

NASA astronauts may have finally found a way to get pizza in space without needing to have it delivered to them and that is by 3D printing.

NDTV reports that the Indian-origin engineer Anjan Contractor got the NASA grant of $125,000 to create the 3D printer which can help astronauts be provided with nutritious and more delectable food to eat in space rather than their usual canned and pre-packaged foods. The first goal of the NASA 3D printer is to come up with a pizza and with how news is spreading online, it certainly has succeeded.

It was featured in the contractor's YouTube video how it only took 70 seconds to have the pizza cooked after the tool finished printing the pizza. The NASA 3D printer was described to have laid out all the tiniest specs of the food the astronauts wanted like starches, fats, texture, flavour, smell and a lot more.

NASA Thinks It's Time to Produce Commercial Lunar Landers

In other news, NASA is prepping up the boosting of coming up with more lunar landers at the commercial level by offering free of charge technical training, equipment and even software to companies that are willing to come up with the landers. Jason Cruzan, the one in charge of the advanced exploration programs of the US space agency emphasised the aim of the new programme, Lunar Catalyst, on helping stimulate commercialisation.

Several of the space transportation companies who have showed interest in the programme include the Alliant Techsystems Inc and the Boeing Co, NBC News wrote.

On the other hand, NASA also chose two educators to be involved in their Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy programme which will happen in a couple of months. It was first launched in 2011, which involves the pairing of teachers with astronomers who will study and observe with an infrared telescope while inside a flying Boeing 747SP converted jetliner.

The experience is certainly a once-in-a-lifetime thing for chosen teachers Marcella Linahan and Lynne Zielinski. Ms Linahan is a science teacher of the Carmel Catholic High School, while Ms Zielinski is a retired teacher in Long Grove.