​On May 30, 2020, SpaceX launched its first Falcon 9 rocket crewed mission and, with it, a new era of spaceflight in which low-Earth orbit is commercialized and private vehicles can now ferry people to and from space. According to SpaceX, this is a first step toward reaching the planet Mars and settling the first human colony. Although detailed technical elements are being investigated to reach this goal, the challenges of food supply and production have been left mainly unspoken. With a travel time of approximately 7–9 months, a minimum required stay of 2 years, and a high payload cost, it will be impossible to ship all nutrition from Earth to Mars. To tackle this challenge, Puratos, together with different partners, has launched SpaceBakery, a research project on how to feed the first Martian colonists.​