The Download: future house meals, and EV battery swapping

The way forward for house meals may very well be as easy—and peculiar—as a protein shake made with astronaut breath or a burger made out of fungus.

For many years, astronauts have relied totally on pre-packaged meals, or the occasional grown lettuce, throughout their forays off our planet. With missions past Earth orbit in sight, a NASA-led competitors is hoping to vary all that and usher in a brand new period of sustainable house meals.

To remedy the issue of feeding astronauts on long-duration missions, NASA requested corporations to suggest novel methods to develop sustainable meals for future missions. Around 200 rose to the problem—creating nutritious (and outlandish) culinary creations within the course of. Read the full story.

—Jonathan O’Callaghan

How 5-minute battery swaps may get extra EVs on the highway

Charging is the principle manner folks preserve their EV batteries stuffed with juice whereas on the go. But some corporations have another that may very well be even faster than the quickest chargers immediately: battery swapping.

But whereas proponents say battery swapping may assist strengthen the case for EVs by making it sooner to replenish a automobile’s vary, some specialists are skeptical—viewing battery swapping as an costly answer that can at greatest serve a slim area of interest inside the way forward for electrical transportation. Read the full story.