Maintaining a balanced diet is difficult enough on Earth, but it becomes even more difficult in space. This is especially true for long-distance missions. Although space-based agriculture exists, progressed in recent yearsgrowing fresh crops in space is no easy feat, and every bit of food and water stored inside the spacecraft increases in mass, making the spacecraft heavier by the time it leaves orbit.
Scientists recently investigated the possibility of creating a nutritious diet suitable for long-duration space travel, such as Mars missions, that meets the nutritional needs of astronauts and tastes better than existing alternatives. They tested 10 dishes to see which was the best diet for male astronauts. In the future, they plan to specifically study the diet of female astronauts. The best diet will help space travelers get the calories and various nutrients they need during their voyage, and use crops that can be grown in space with minimal water.
In the end, the best space food was a hearty kale salad, according to a study published Dec. 13 in the same journal. ACS Food Science & Technology.
“These assessments are an important step toward the feasibility of long-term human space missions, for example to Mars,” the authors write.
Space travelers have different nutritional requirements than people on Earth. That’s because astronauts face the unique stressors of spaceflight, including vibration, noise, weightlessness, cosmic radiation, and rapid temperature changes. According to research Male astronauts need to eat about 2.6 pounds (1.2 kilograms) of food a day to maintain their weight and energy levels. That diet should contain more than twice the amount of carbohydrates and protein that a typical person on Earth needs.
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With this in mind, the team used statistical models to evaluate a variety of nutritious foods, and also measured the food’s ability to withstand growing in space and long-term storage inside a spacecraft. In this model he produced 10 “cosmic dishes”. Four were vegetarian and six were made with plants and meat.
Compared to plants, meat options typically provide higher concentrations of certain important nutrients, such as protein and protein. vitamin B12. However, storing animal products “requires large amounts of space for long-duration space missions,” and animal products are difficult ingredients to include regularly in astronauts’ diets, the study authors wrote. ing. (moreover, There is still no efficient way to grow lab-grown meat, although progress is being made in this field. )
The researchers could not include baked goods such as bread because they float in microgravity and could damage equipment inside the spacecraft.
Crops, on the other hand, could be grown during space travel. Taking all of these factors into account, the researchers’ model suggests that the optimal diet to meet the nutritional needs of astronauts while making space travel possible is a combination of soybeans, poppy seeds, barley, kale, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and sunflowers. I decided it was a vegetarian salad made with seeds. But noteworthy is the lack of salad dressing.
“I think they made a very good choice.” Kathleen Cartera nutrition researcher at Ohio’s Central State University who was not involved in the study told Live Science. “I think as we start extending our time in space, we’re going to have to use more plant-based sources. We have to be able to grow our own resources.”
Beyond nutritional value, researchers studied another component of the ideal astronaut diet: taste. They fed his four volunteers the optimized space salad and recorded their feedback on how good it tasted. Overall, the results were positive, with one volunteer noting that they “enjoyed the sweetness and fresh texture of the potatoes.”
However, the researchers noted that this dietary option has some important limitations.
On the other hand, some plants Chinese cabbage and tomato, has been grown in space for several decades, but a reliable and efficient cultivation system to maximize yield in this environment does not yet exist, the researchers noted in the study. Additionally, the optimized salad still lacks some of the vitamins and minerals astronauts need daily, but these can be provided through supplements, the authors write.
Carter said future research should also consider each astronaut’s cultural and personal dietary requirements. Their space menus should accommodate allergies, personal preferences and dietary restrictions, she added.
“Different cultures will require different types of food,” Carter said. “Make sure the food looks good and tastes good.” [and] In addition to being very nutritious, it’s going to be very important that it’s something they really want to eat. ”
Researchers plan to use the model to design diets for female astronauts and incorporate more crops into the algorithm, according to a report. statement.
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