TOKYO (Japan Times/ANN): Dassai, a sake brewer in Yamaguchi Prefecture, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 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, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui will test sake brewing 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, kōji 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 (US$720,400).
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. – The Japan Times/Asia News Network