Abstract
Food and nutrition are critical to health and performance and therefore the success of human space exploration. However, the shelf-stable food system currently in use on the International Space Station is not sustainable as missions become longer and further from Earth, even with modification for mass and water efficiencies. Here, we provide a potential approach toward sustainability with the phased addition of bioregenerative foods over the course of NASA’s current mission plans. Significant advances in both knowledge and technology are still needed to inform nutrition, acceptability, safety, reliability, and resource and integration trades between bioregenerative and other food systems. Sustainability goals on Earth are driving similar research into bioregenerative solutions with the potential for infusion across spaceflight and Earth research that benefits both.
Highlights
Introduction of In Situ Grown FoodsFood Crops as a Case Study5.1
Bioregenerative food systems all still require significant ground-based research and development before we have the knowledge about their resources, integration impacts, and infrastructure requirements to make accurate trades in comparison to the current shelfstable spaceflight food system
We are focusing on crops as an example of a roadmap to integration with the space food system for several reasons
Summary
Food and nutrition are central to every aspect of health and performance. Throughout history, the adequacy of the food system has been critical to the success of human exploration [1,2]. Resource constraints and shelf-life requirements on space vehicles can conflict with what seems on. Earth to be basic and necessary food system solutions (e.g., cold storage), challenging food system provisioning as missions become longer and further from Earth. Resource limitations include launch mass, volume, water, power, preparation equipment, and crew time, which has restricted the food system to date to mostly individually packaged, shelf-stable foods. Space exploration and settlement on other planets will require a more sustainable food system that is less dependent on Earth. We discuss how resource challenges were met throughout the history of the spaceflight food system, and considerations for a phased approach toward sustainability for those developing solutions for future exploration
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