Have you ever wondered why astronauts eat different food in space compared to what we have on Earth? Imagine trying to eat a sandwich while floating around in space, it’s isn’t as simple as it sounds! Traditional foods such as sandwiches and salads cannot withstand the weightlessness of space, thus space food must be compact, lightweight, and easy to digest.
Astronauts must maintain their health and strength throughout their space missions. This is why space food is specifically developed to offer astronauts with all of the nutrients they require to stay healthy while in space.
At Space India, Through Space Explorers Workshops “Space Cafe” session, Students realize that food taken to space is a well-balanced diet that is precisely processed and packaged. Students had the opportunity to act as food scientists for the day, performing the jobs of nutrition specialist, food engineer, food organizer, spice engineer, and health manager in order to finish the astronaut food tray.
Imagine traveling to Mars, which may take up to 5 years round way, and needing to bring all of your food. Space food must have a lengthy shelf life in order to remain fresh on long space trips, hence it is frequently freeze-dried or packaged in a way that maintains its freshness for an extended period of time. Freeze-drying is a process that removes moisture from food by freezing it and then slowly heating it in a vacuum. These are lightweight, have a long shelf life, and can be rehydrated with water prior to eating.
Also, with astronauts spending more time in space and recent scientific discoveries, we now have bioreactors, which are devices that use biological processes to generate food, such as cultivating yeast or algae to produce protein. Bioreactors can be utilized to provide sustainable food sources in space, reducing the requirement for traditional farming.
There is no hospital nearby if someone becomes ill as a result of food poisoning, thus space food production must adhere to strict safety regulations to avoid any hazardous germs or contaminants from making astronauts sick. Thermal stabilization and irradiation technologies are used to eliminate unwanted bacteria and enzymes while retaining their nutritional value. Thermal stabilization heats the food, whereas irradiation exposes the food to ionizing radiation to destroy bacteria, parasites, and other pathogens.
Food storage and transportation are constrained on space missions due to space, weight, and resource constraints. To make the best use of these limited resources, each item transported into space must be carefully selected and optimized. Scientists overcome this challenge by developing hydroponics and aeroponics. These approaches entail growing plants without soil using nutrient-rich water solutions. Hydroponic and aeroponic technologies can be utilized in space to efficiently grow fresh produce while requiring little resources such as water and space.
Astronauts consume controlled, counted calories in space due to limited storage space, the effects of weightlessness on metabolism, the need for precision nutrition to meet nutritional requirements, maintain health and performance, and conduct research to better understand the effects of diet in space and improve long-duration mission strategies. Astronauts’ bodies experience physiological changes in the microgravity environment of space, which can impact metabolism and food absorption. Monitoring calorie consumption helps them maintain their health and energy levels in this new environment.
As space exploration advances and humans spend more time in space, the necessity of space food production grows at a rapid rate. With mankind aiming to establish colonies on the moon and launch manned spaceships to Mars, scientists and engineers are continuously developing new methods and technology for growing and producing food in space. So, the next time you look up at the stars, remember that the future of space food production is not just science fiction; it is a reality that is being created right now, on Earth.
SPACE Education also offers an e-learning platform, making Astronomy and Space Science easily available to people all over the world. The iAstronomer Club, for example, is the world’s largest amateur astronomy club, where space and astronomy lovers collaborate to explore and solve these mysteries.
It is a forum where astronomers may teach you new techniques and skills, share ideas and passion, conduct experiments and record astronomical occurrences, work on astrophotography projects, travel to research eclipses, and collaborate to experience something out of this world every day. Age is not a barrier to membership; the only need is a curious mind and an insatiable desire to learn about the unknown. Each club session would be an excellent opportunity to enhance experiential learning via hands-on activities.
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