Sake Brewing to Be Tested on International Space Station

Tokyo, Oct. 9 (Jiji Press)–Dassai Inc., a sake brewer in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Thursday that a Japanese H3 rocket will carry ingredients for Dassai sake, as well as brewing equipment developed by the two for use in space. On the International Space Station, sake brewing will be tested by Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui in the Japanese experimental module “Kibo.” The goal is to produce sake on the moon in the future. In the test, the equipment, which reproduces the moon’s gravity, will make “moromi” fermented rice mash by mixing rice, “koji” mold, and yeast with water. The moromi will be frozen and stored before being returned to Earth as early as by the end of the year. It will be processed on Earth into sake, and only 100 milliliters of the sake will be sold for 110 million yen. The proceeds will be donated to Japan’s space development project. The seventh H3 rocket is scheduled to be launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima on Oct. 21. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]