Specialists from the Research Institute of Food Concentrate Industry and Special Food Technology have begun creating a digital twin of an extraterrestrial settlement. According to Andrey Vedernikov, head of the space nutrition department, who spoke to TASS, this model will be used to practice all stages of producing rations for future lunar and Martian missions – from crop cultivation to meals, taking into account the socio-cultural norms of the crew.
The AI-based platform will simulate conditions on the Moon and Mars. The virtual testing ground will allow identifying errors in the "production – storage – waste processing – preparation" chain, which would otherwise have to be dealt with in real life during the actual deployment of a colony. This approach replaces expensive full-scale experiments in orbit or in desert analogs.
The project lays the foundation for autonomous closed-loop life support systems. When mission durations are measured in years, and the delivery of every kilogram from Earth costs thousands of dollars, the colonists' ability to feed themselves on-site transforms from a service function into a critical element of survival. The digital twin acts as a simulator where mistakes only cost processor time.
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