Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, December 27th (Reporter Zhang Mengran) "Science Report" recently published a study, and NASA's Johnson Space Center stated that astronauts should receive a "fortified diet" during spaceflight, including relevant A greater variety and quantity of fruits, vegetables and fish than standard space food to improve their health and performance.
The findings, conducted on Earth with 16 participants in a spaceflight simulator, could affect the health and prioritization of food sources for spaceflight astronauts.
Long-duration spaceflight can affect human health, and the size and energy constraints of vehicles place a limited load on the belt.
The food astronauts eat may mitigate some of the negative health changes in spaceflight, but food is ultimately limited by quality, volume, shelf life, and storage requirements.
The research team analyzed the effects of eating two diets on 16 people (10 men, 6 women).
Four people in each of the four closed pods on Earth participated in the 45-day mission.
The design of the chamber simulates the enclosed space flight environment and the practicality of storing different food items under these conditions.
Participants ate a "fortified diet," or standard diet.
The former includes adding more servings and a greater variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as more fish and omega-3 fatty acids.
Standard space food is currently used on the International Space Station, and while it meets most of the requirements, scientists have proposed that it could incorporate food from more fruits and vegetables and more omega-3 fatty acids.
A "fortified diet" provides more than 6 daily servings of fruits and vegetables, 2-3 servings of fish per week, and other healthy foods.
All food items are shelf-stable, a requirement to support room temperature, extended storage conditions in current space missions.
In order to simulate real space flight conditions, the food is stored in the cabin before the start of each mission.
Participants provided saliva, urine, blood and stool samples and completed cognitive assessment tasks during the tasks.
The team found that people who ate the enhanced space diet had lower cholesterol levels, lower cortisol levels (indicating lower stress), and better cognitive speed, accuracy, and attention than those who ate the standard diet. stable microbiome.
The researchers concluded that "fortified space diets" have clear health and performance benefits for individuals, or astronauts, even on short-duration space missions.
While further research is needed to assess healthy eating in space, these findings could help guide the prioritization of food sources for future space exploration missions.