Introducing the world’s first sake brewed in space: DASSAI MOON – Made in Space

When human settlement on the Moon becomes a reality in the 2040s, sake can add richness and joy to life in space. Compared to grapes, which contain a high percentage of water, rice grain—is lighter and more suitable for transportation from the Earth to the Moon.
With this in mind, we envision brewing DASSAI on the Moon using locally available water on the MOON and transported rice. As a first step toward this goal, we are conducting a fermentation experiment in a simulated lunar gravity environment (1/6 of Earth's gravity) aboard the Kibo module on the International Space Station.

DASSAI, in collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Aichi Center for Industry and Science Technology, has been working on the development and launch preparations for this project.
In July 2024, the utilization of the Kibo module was approved under JAXA’s ( Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ) Kibo commercial utilization program. Currently, we are developing the fermentation equipment, with a target launch scheduled for the latter half of 2025.

Approximately 520g (18oz) of Moromi (sake mash) will be fermented aboard the ISS and then brought back to Earth in a frozen state. After pressed it into sake, a portion will be reserved for analysis, while 100ml (3.4oz) will be bottled into a single, exclusive bottle.
This one-of-a-kind sake, "DASSAI MOON – Made in Space", is planned to be sold at a suggested retail price of 100 Million Yen, (Approx US$650,000) Asahi Shuzo will donate the entire sale to support the future of Japan’s space exploration initiatives.