IFST Webinar: Can we bake in space – man?
Organised by Food Innovation SIG
Bake In Space was a startup that sought to "address the scientific and technical challenges relating to the production of fresh food in space in order to improve the wellbeing and comfort of humans travelling beyond Low Earth Orbit."
In order to improve astronauts’ well-being on long-duration missions such as on a Moon base or on a mission to Mars, food plays an essential key role. Besides a source for nutrition, fresh food evokes through all the senses of smell, touch and taste memories of general happiness and home.
The goal of the project was to conduct a series of technology demonstrations related to the production of fresh bread aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This entails recreating the value chain from growing grain to baking bread in micro-gravity. The experiment is split up into 5 phases, which will be realised on future astronaut missions to the ISS in order to advance the goal of food self-sustainability in space. Bake in Space will generate commercialisable spin-offs that will benefit us here on Earth.
What participants will learn about: Challenges of producing food at Zero-G, complex and high-tech project management, cross disciplinary science – heavily focused on food technology and nutrition, risks of consuming certain foods at Zero-G – equipment wise.
Who should attend: IFST members, non-members, food Scientists, food technologists, nutritionists, project managers and academics
Chair: Tom Æ Hollands, Innovation and Technical Director, Raynor Foods 
Tom Æ Hollands is the Innovation and Technical Director at Raynor Foods, he is also a Fellow of the IFST and previously one of its trustees. Tom is an accomplished Food Scientist who has worked in both government (Food Standards Agency) and the private sector. Tom is a true innovator at heart and has won many national and international accolades, in 2021 he was cited in The Manufacturers Top100 as an Exemplar Innovation Leader for UK manufacturing.
Tom’s innovations are focused on sustainability and meta food systems, their emerging technologies and the fascinating and complex links that join them.
Speaker: Sebastian D. Marcu, Managing Director, Design and Data GmbH
Sebastian D. Marcu is an accomplished professional serving as the Managing Director at Design & Data GmbH. Previously, he held the position of CEO at Bake in Space, a pioneering "New Space" startup dedicated to the ambitious objective of baking fresh bread in space using ingredients entirely produced within the extraterrestrial environment. Through this groundbreaking endeavor, Sebastian aimed to enhance the quality of life for those living and working in space.
Sebastian graduated from the University of Westminster (UK) and completed the Space Studies Programme at the prestigious International Space University in Strasbourg (France). With an extensive background spanning two decades in media and content marketing, Sebastian has dedicated over 20 years to the space sector. Throughout his career, he has made an indelible impact on a global audience, captivating and inspiring individuals through his exceptional PR and marketing campaigns for prominent organizations such as the European Space Agency and other entities closely associated with the space ecosystem.
Speaker: Neil Jaschinski, Managing Director, Applied Rocket Technology
Neil graduated as Dipl.-Ing. (FH) from the University of Applied Science Gelsenkirchen, Germany, in the field of measurement and testing. During his professional carrier he has developed all various kinds of testing and measurement equipment, such as glass defect detectors, rocket engine test benches and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) systems.
In his spare time, he has a strong interest in human space flight and a passion for cooking. Both fields joined in early 2016, and the idea was born to bake bread on the International Space Station (ISS). After developing a space proving oven, he focused on developing space suits.
Live Q&A: Tom Æ Holland, Neil Jaschinsk and Sebastian D. Marcu