Astronauts don’t eat enough because food tastes bland in space. We’re trying to work out why.

Exploring the Challenges of Eating in Space

Astronauts often report that the joy of eating is lost in space. Food that tastes fabulous on Earth may become bland and boring in orbit. In fact, despite carefully designed diets, space travelers often struggle to eat enough to meet their energy needs.

Eating is a Complicated Experience

Eating is a multi-sensory experience that involves sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. To enjoy the flavor of food – say, when biting into an apple – we need a combination of sensations, including taste (sweet, sour), smell (the complex combination of apple aromas), texture (the crunch), color (green, red), and touch (firmness). If any of these senses is dulled, our enjoyment of food will not be the same.

The Importance of Environment

In space, the environment is unfamiliar and consistently monotonous. Could this change our perception of food? Context heavily contributes to the eating experience. Studies have shown that eating the same meal in different settings can lead to varying opinions about the meal. Imagine eating a picnic sandwich in a scenic park versus eating the same sandwich quickly at your work desk.

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Bringing Space to Earth

Research involving humans in space is very challenging. Space missions typically involve at most six or seven crew members, which limits the sample size for experiments and the predictive power of the results. Moreover, for food research, each person has unique sensory experiences and responses toward them. This makes it challenging to understand how different individuals perceive smells in space, let alone food aromas.

So we set out to recreate space on Earth. Using virtual reality (VR), we simulated the environment of the International Space Station. Our study is the first to involve a significant sample size (54 people) to capture the variation of individuals’ personal experiences of aromas and taste in simulated isolated settings.

Molecular Magic of Aroma

Aromas are a complex blend of molecules with unique chemical structures, influencing how they interact with the olfactory receptors in the nose to form distinctive smells. Our study suggests that only specific aroma compounds are perceived differently in space-like environments. We found that sweet-smelling molecules tended to be perceived more strongly.

Conclusion

Understanding how aromas are perceived in space-like environments could inspire ways to create personalized diets based on each astronaut’s unique sensory experiences and preferences. By tailoring food aromas, we could encourage space travelers not only to eat more, but enjoy food more. These solutions may also help people on Earth living in isolated or confined environments, such as nursing home residents, individuals on military deployment, and submarine crews.

FAQs

Q: Why do astronauts struggle to eat enough in space?

A: Astronauts may not enjoy the taste of food as much in space due to the unique sensory environment of space travel.

Q: What did your study find?

A: We found that sweet-smelling molecules are perceived more strongly in space-like environments.

Q: How can this knowledge be applied in space travel?

A: This understanding of aroma perception could be used to create personalized diets for astronauts based on their unique sensory experiences and preferences.

Q: Who does this research benefit?

A: Astronauts and people on Earth living in isolated or confined environments may benefit from tailored food aromas.