Finally... The Space Program Yields REAL Benefits!

To anyone who looks at space exploration with a jaundiced eye, saying those resources could be better utilized solving problems on the ground... we're happy to report a Japanese brewery plans to brew the first-ever "space beer."

The Associated Press reports Sapporo Holdings plans to make around 100 bottles of the special brew, using the offspring of barley grains that spent five months onboard the International Space Station, as part of a joint Japanese/Russian experiment.

"We want to finish the beer by November. It will be the first space beer," Sapporo executive Junichi Ichikawa told reporters Tuesday.

Though resolutely Earthbound in nature, the microbrewery project is based off an experiment with true scientific merit: the grains were onboard the ISS to prove the fiber-and-nutrient-rich barley grains could survive the conditions of orbital space.

Not only did those grains survive -- they flourished. Which means someday, astronauts on extended space missions might grow their own barley for food... and the occasional post-EVA cold one.

"In the future, we may reach a point where humans will spend an extended period of time in space and must grow food to sustain ourselves," Sugimoto said. "In the long run, we hope our space research will be not just about producing food, but about enjoying food and relaxing."

Anyone looking for an extra-orbital buzz from the space-borne beer might be disappointed, however... as scientists have detected no differences between barley grown on Earth, and the space-grown grains.

We'll end with this. Does anyone else find it somewhat interesting news of a space beer surfaced the very same day NASA announced the crew onboard the ISS was experiencing problems with the station's liquid-waste collection device -- i.e, astro-urinal?

Tell us the universe doesn't have a sense of humor...

FMI: www.sapporoholdings.jp/english/