The ultimate ‘space authority’ is designed for long-term manned space missions | sorae portal site to space

The cornerstone of the astronaut’s dieteat space“It is limited to limited foods that have passed a number of strict conditions. In the more than half a century of space development history, space food has progressed, but there are still problems.

For example, the only example in which a refrigerator was installed to store food on a manned space mission in the United States was the “Skylab” space station in the 1970s, and refrigerators were not used on most missions. Therefore, space food is processed into a form that can be stored at room temperature and then sealed in a sterile condition. In addition, since manned space missions to date have been completed in a short period of time or have been carried out in low Earth orbit where replenishment is easy, replenishment of space food depends on transportation from Earth.

However, with missions such as manned Mars exploration and the construction of a permanent base on the Moon planned for the near future, astronaut meals will become a major issue as astronauts leave Earth for an extended period of time. Space foods made to current standards have a shelf life of about 1 year and 6 months, but in the case of manned Mars exploration, for example, a shelf life of 5 years or more is required.

For this reason, in addition to traditional space foods that focus mainly on “preservation”, “growing” edible plants such as vegetables in spacecraft is also an option. In addition, fresh food is important in terms of its freshness and appearance to reduce the psychological burden of food biased towards “always” preserved food.

[شكل 2: إحدى السلطات الفضائية التي تم ابتكارها هذه المرة (مصدر الصورة: جامعة أديلايد)]

Research team such as Shu Liang of the University of Nottingham have found that a proper diet is possible even in a restricted environment like a manned space mission.Space authorityCreate.

The ingredients included in Space Salad are chosen to meet the following conditions. The most important thing is that it is a plant that can be grown in the limited space of the spaceship. For this purpose, it is advisable to use plants that can be grown hydroponically without soil, and which can be expected to produce high yields with limited fertilizers and space. In addition, every nutrient and calorie must meet the standards for astronauts to live healthy. These dietary standards differ from those we live on Earth. This should also be achieved by using as few types of vegetables as possible in order to keep the area required for cultivation small. Aspects such as taste, color and texture are also important in reducing the psychological burden.

Based on these locations, Liang and his colleagues looked at more than 100 plant species, and finally created a space salad with a mixture of 6 to 8 plant species. For example, in the example image, “Soybeans, poppy seeds, barley, kale, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and sunflower seedsIt includes. Four volunteers tasted it, and one of them said he could eat it for a week.

As a next step, Mr. Liang and his colleagues plan to develop specific equipment and cultivation systems to make this space salad.

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Text: Rare Aya