What’s on the menu in space?
29 June 2005
Food rations are a vital consideration when planning crewed space missions. But today, now that missions are getting longer diet factors are coming into even sharper focus.
Ease of transport and storage space, nutritional value and astronauts’ taste buds all have to be taken into account when choosing meals.
The latest issue of CnesMag includes an in-depth feature on space food.
Complex cuisine
Astronauts’ food rations have to satisfy strict criteria regarding dietary balance, diversity and variation in flavours, and food hygiene, not forgetting that storage space is at a premium on any spacecraft.
The american STS-76 mission crew sharing a russian meal with the Mir cosmonauts ; credits Nasa
Insufficient attention to space food rations can have serious effects on crew health, leading to muscle atrophy, decalcification, immune system deficiencies and cardiovascular problems if the nutritional balance is not right.
While eating is of course primarily a physical necessity, food also plays an important psychological role. Healthy eating reduces stress and thereby helps to maintain good team spirit among the crew.
Fresh fruits are rare and much appreciated ! credits Esa
Moreover, especially on long missions, the crew need to break the monotony of everyday rations from time to time. Astronauts therefore reserve more refined dishes to mark special occasions.
According to French astronaut Jean-Pierre Haigneré, “ sharing a really good meal provides some social interaction ” and recreates " a link with Earth. "
Quail in red wine sauce for the ISS?
French chef Richard Filippi came up with the idea of “ space gastronomy ” some years ago. In 1996, his 1
st meals were shipped out to the
Mir space station and proved an instant success. He has since added to his menu, with honey roast veal, quail in red wine sauce, and tuna and lemon confit to name a few.
Celebrating a crew handover in the ISS ; credits Nasa
These meals for special occasions are far from a needless luxury. By giving the crew an opportunity to celebrate special events like crew extravehicular activities, they are an undeniable boost for morale.
Preparing the astronauts' meals for the Pegase mission at Souillac catering school (France) ; credits CNES/Al.Huet
Now, the Cadmos centre is working with Esa and the Alain Ducasse group to create meals for the ISS.
Their goal is to make space cuisine a regular feature for astronauts in the future.
Space food also presents some longer-term challenges. Esa plans to grow crops on Mars, exploiting natural resources on the planet’s surface—carbon dioxide, natural light and a day/night cycle. The project team has already selected 8 candidate plants and concocted a range of recipes, including potato gnocchi in spiruline sauce … and they’re working hard to round out the menu!
