By Dr. Giuseppe Reibaldi, M.A., Director Human Spaceflight, International Academy of Astronautics, Paris.
Men have been on the Moon nearly 50 years ago and since 1998 they have been permanently present in space, on board the International Space Station, the world largest global space program.
Eating in space is a very important part of every day life for astronauts, nutritionally and socially. The article explains the challenges faced by eating in space and the application on Earth of the technologies developed, as example of human spaceflight spin-offs.
In the late 1950s when planning was advancing for conducting human missions into space, several experts expressed their concern that eating in space was not possible, due to weightlessness.
Following the launch in orbit of the first astronaut Yury Gagarin, in April 1961, an understanding of human body behavior in space started to become clearer. It was confirmed that all physiological processes are occurring in space, including eating, but in a different way.
What is actually happening to the human body in weightlness ?
Gravity is the only physical parameter on Earth that has not changed since its creation, while all others did change: from the location of the south and north pole, to the atmospheric composition, the location of the continents as well as the sea level and many other parameters.
Life on Earth has developed, taking into account the gravity, at each step of the evolution. When gravity is very low, as in orbit, there are important modifications to the physiology and chemistry.
In particular, fluids present in the human body, shift from the feet to the head, which induces several changes, like puffed face, impression of cold in the nose, loss of weight and many others.
Leaving and working in space is a unique experience, considering that the International Space Station, home for the astronauts, is located at 400 km of altitude and travels at a speed of 28000 km/hr. A full orbit around the Earth takes about 90 minutes and during this period of time, astronauts catch sight of one sunrise and one sunset!
In this particular situation food is not only important for the nutritional value, but also for psychological reasons. Eating together is an essential milestone in their busy, mostly individual, work schedule and they look forward to these moments of socialization.
In view of the special life conditions, food in space needs to be healthy, nutritious and savory, taking into account the reduced sense of taste the astronauts experience; the equivalent of a normal cold.
Food in space has evolved since the 60s, from simple pills and tube type support to more similar terrestrial food, thanks to the evolution of technologies and the room available in orbit.
At present, about 550 men and women, astronauts of different countries, have been in space. Some of them consumed even delicacies from their home country onboard the International Space Station.
The standard ISS meal is made according to the American or Russian food traditions, but nowadays more and more astronauts bring onboard the so called “bonus food”. This is used for special occasion with the savor of homeland! For example, a French astronaut brought onboard “canard confit”; a German astronaut, “pumpernickel bread”, a Japanese astronaut, “tofu”, an Italian astronaut “tiramisu’”.
Italy has been the first country to offer a dinner party onboard the International Space Station! In October 2007, on the occasion of the addition of a new Italian pressurized module to the ISS, a dinner, serving the menu showed in the box, was organized for 7 astronauts!
In 2015, the female Italian astronaut, Samantha Cristoforetti, made “Food and Health” the theme of her space mission. Samantha became a role model for youngsters and citizens at large, on the topic “how to consume healthy food”.
The First Dinner Party of History with 6 Astronauts together, offered by Italian astronaut, October 2007.
Menu:
- Starters Piccante Cracker
- Crema di Olive, Paté di Pomodori Secchi, Parmigiano Reggiano, Provolone
- First Course Fregola con peperoni dolci
- Tortellini al formaggio, Ravioli di manzo, Linguine in brodo di pollo
- Second course
- Tacchino affumicato
- Side Dishes Fagiolini e funghi, Cavolfiori con formaggio
- Asparagi, Verdure miste grigliate, Melanzane al pomodoro
- Fresh Fruit
- Pere, Ananas, Fragole
- Sweets
- Ricci di Mandorle, Praline cioccolato con caffè
- Drinks
- Succo di Arancia, Mango, Ananas, Te, Coffee
Nowadays, food developed for astronauts has also applications on Earth, in particular on markets which are interested in healthy food, which is, at the same time, nutritious, tasty, of quality, non-perishable (24 months without refrigerator) and without chemical additions. Sportsmen and women, performing long and heavy competitions, elderly people or even individuals not having time to cook are all potential users.
If we think about the future of space exploration, like Moon and Mars settlements, the time to spend in space for humans will increase from the present 6 months to several years. Considering that one single person consumes 5.5 ton of food each year, it is not feasible to carry this required mass into space! For the future “self-contained” space habitat, every resource need to be reused, and new technologies are being developed to provide bio regenerative life support systems. Earth applications of closed ecological systems, as growing food in the deserts and in the cities, are relevant to develop sustainable technologies that protect the environment.
The European Space Agency is a major participant in the ISS program, and ESTEC (European Space Technology Centre) with its space museum located in Holland, Noordwijk, is extremely interesting to be visited by people of all ages, where some of the technologies discussed can be seen!
