On a recent day in Jarvis Hall at University of Wisconsin-Stout, about a dozen pairs of students leaned against lab tables and dug into the results of fermentation experiments they had created.

Space miso fermentation is possible. Space miso tasted nuttier than Earth miso. Space miso had different microbes and chemicals. More research is needed to understand space's effect on fermentation.

So, you have a great idea for a new fermentation-based product or ingredient, and a successful process in the lab. All that remains is to scale up to mass production. That’s just a matter of running ...