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What will astronauts on deep space missions eat? 'Neurogastronomy' may
have the answer.
By Robert Lea published 1 day ago
Together with the Humanity in Deep Space initiative, chef Bob Perry is
considering how the crews on long space missions will experience food.

Comments (4)
Crew members of Expedition 60 aboard the international Space Station
float around ingredients of a meal they are preparing.
An image of Expedition 60 crew members enjoying a meal in 2019. (Image
credit: NASA)

Scientists and chefs alike are working to revolutionize food technology
to determine what astronauts on missions that take them away from Earth
for years will eat to maintain both their physical and mental health.

Humanity is well in the midst of preparing for the next era of space
exploration, which will involve long stays on the lunar surface and
crewed journeys beyond the moon, potentially to the surface of Mars.
NASA's Artemis program has undergone its first test flight and is
expected to return humanity to the moon by 2025. After this, NASA will
attempt to use the moon as a stepping stone for a crewed Mars mission.

Working with the Humanity in Deep Space initiative, University of
Kentucky chef Bob Perry is cooking up a recipe for food and nutrition on
longer space missions. To do this, the team is considering human flavor
perception and how the brain makes use of sensory data to experience and
remember food. This study, called neurological gastronomy or
"neurogastronomy" allows the "human factor" to be considered when
thinking about astronauts' health and nutrition.

Related: Space food: Why Mars astronauts won’t have to hold the fries
(video)

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Neurogastronomy examines the relationship between humans, the food they
eat and where food comes from, and this can be applied to the
practicalities of eating in deep space.

"One of the primary concerns is the psychological impact on astronauts
during long-duration space missions," UK College of Agriculture, Food
and Environment food lab coordinator and a founder of The International
Society of Neurogastronomy, Bob Perry, said in a statement. "Through
pioneering research and flight experiments, neurogastronomy explores
various fascinating areas."

Vacuum-sealed food items sit on a tray with a small pair of scissors, a
fork and a knife.

An image of food that astronauts may eat on short-term space missions
taken at NASA's Johnson Space Center’s Food Tasting lab. (Image credit:
NASA)
Humanity and Deep Space founding member Kris Kimel said that a journey
to Mars from Earth would take around seven months each way, with
astronauts expected to spend around a year on the Martian surface
investigating the Red Planet. That means Mars explorers could spend
between two and three years away from the home comforts of Earth.

"Understanding the relationship between the brain, the gut, and effects
of long-term spaceflight is crucial," UK College of Social Work graduate
Kimel added. "Growing food during the journey becomes a necessity."

International Space Station (ISS) crew members have already experimented
with growing lettuce and other crops, but the challenge lies in scaling
up production to sustain a crew of several individuals for stays in
space longer than a few months.

astronauts float around in a space station while eating lettuce

NASA astronauts Scott Kelly (right) and Kjell Lindgren (center) with
Kimiya Yui of JAXA snack on freshly harvested space-grown red romaine
lettuce as part of the Veggie experiment. (Image credit: NASA TV via
collectSPACE.com)
Another critical aspect of astronaut food research is understanding how
the microgravity environment of space impacts the digestive process and
the communities of microorganisms that live in the stomach  —  the
microbiome of the gut. Examining gut health through the lens of
neurogastronomy could help develop specially tailored diets for
astronauts that optimize the number of nutrients they absorb while in
deep space.

Preserving the "joy of food" far from Earth
Another aspect of the deep-space experience that the team aims to
understand is how microgravity affects the senses of taste and smell.
This could help better formulate food that ensures that crews don't lose
the enjoyment of food while far away from Earth.

Additionally, exploring new preservation and fermentation approaches
could not only ensure food supplies last for the duration of long space
missions but could also mean that there is variety in the diets of
astronauts. This diversity of flavors and food textures could be
important to the psychological health of astronauts by limiting
so-called "menu fatigue."

"The isolation and confinement experienced in deep space can profoundly
affect human psychology. If you go back throughout history, you find a
table where people gather to eat food in every single society," Perry
said. "Zero gravity cooking tools and applications become essential
instruments for spacefarers, enabling them to navigate the challenges
and prepare meals in a microgravity environment. Astronauts must also
connect through food even in these most extraordinary circumstances."

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Though it is primarily focused on deep space, the work undertaken by
Perry and the Humanity and Deep Space initiative may also have
implications closer to home, back here on Terra Firma.

That's because the knowledge and technology arrived at by Perry and the
team could help lead to a sustainable closed-loop food system in space
that could then be applied here on Earth. Optimizing the use of
resources for deep space missions could also help improve food
sustainability and reduce food waste for humans on our planet.

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Robert Lea
Robert Lea
Contributing Writer
Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been
published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About
Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science
communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob
holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the
U.K.’s Open University. Follow him on Twitter @sciencef1rst.