Although there aren’t any agency plans for a crewed mission to Mars, everyone knows one’s coming. Astronauts routinely spend months at a time on the ISS, and we’ve discovered quite a bit in regards to the hazards astronauts face on lengthy missions. Nevertheless, Mars missions can take years, which presents an entire host of issues, together with astronaut diet.
Diet may also help astronauts handle spaceflight dangers within the ISS, however long-duration missions to Mars are completely different. There will be no resupply.
In physiological phrases, low gravity and radiation publicity are the 2 continual hazards astronauts face on the ISS. Low gravity can result in muscle loss and bone density loss, and radiation publicity will increase the danger of creating most cancers and different degenerative ailments. When astronauts make the journey to Mars, every leg of the journey can take 6 or 7 months, and so they might keep on Mars for 500 days.
This dwarfs the eight days that the Apollo 11 astronauts spent in area. These lengthy journeys will tax astronauts’ well being and NASA is working to know what function diet can play in serving to astronauts keep wholesome and handle the dangers.
Their present work on astronaut diet is a freely out there PDF ebook titled “Human Adaptation to Spaceflight: The Function of Meals and Diet—2nd Version.” Its 4 authors are all researchers working in diet, biochemistry, biomedical analysis, area meals techniques, and preventative well being.
“The significance of diet in exploration has been documented repeatedly all through historical past, on voyages throughout oceans, on expeditions throughout polar ice, and on treks throughout unexplored continents,” the authors write.
Scientists have discovered quite a bit about diet for the reason that age of crusing and exploration, however the authors write that “a key distinction between previous journeys and area exploration is that astronauts usually are not more likely to discover meals alongside the best way.” Which means that understanding astronaut dietary necessities and meals system necessities on lengthy journeys is “as crucial to crew security and mission success as any of the mechanical techniques of the spacecraft itself.”
The ebook examines the distinctive challenges astronauts face and presents knowledge from a number of research which are analogous to these challenges. For instance, diet analysis from Antarctica duplicates the isolation and lack of daylight astronauts can face on lengthy missions, and head-down tilt-bed relaxation duplicates the musculoskeletal disuse they have to endure.
Astronauts face a protracted listing of well being dangers on long-duration spaceflights. Radiation publicity and its most cancers danger and microgravity and its impact on muscle and bone are essentially the most well-known dangers. However there are different lesser-known dangers, too.
Astronauts can endure from neuro-ocular syndrome, their immune techniques will be weakened, and their intestine biota can change. All of those situations are linked with diet. Whereas scientists don’t have a whole understanding of how the whole lot works, it’s clear that diet performs a job. The ebook outlines the sorts of analysis being accomplished and what the present understanding is. However the authors are clear about one factor: the system of offering astronauts with correct diet wants work.
ISS astronauts, aside from Russians, get a part of their meals in Crew Particular Menu (CSM) containers that every astronaut orders. They supply between 10% and 20% of their meals. Additionally they obtain a small provide of recent meals and restricted shelf-life meals on every re-supply mission. This has elevated the number of meals for astronauts and helped with diet, however astronauts nonetheless say they’d like extra CSM and recent meals.
Right here within the developed world on Earth, it’s pretty easy to satisfy dietary wants. Most of us have entry to supermarkets and/or farmer’s markets the place we are able to purchase recent produce and different wholesome meals. That very same selection merely isn’t out there in area. ISS astronauts have accomplished some experimental “farming” and have efficiently grown a couple of meals crops like lettuce, kale, and cabbage. Nevertheless, that’s a good distance away from rising sufficient meals to assist with diet, particularly on a Mars mission, the place presumable area and payload shall be at a premium.
One apparent query about astronaut diet is whether or not dietary supplements can exchange nutritious meals. The authors current proof that discredits that concept. “Many earlier research have proven that the complicated synergistic advantages offered by complete meals can’t be replicated by dietary supplements,” they write. In actual fact, in some situations, dietary supplements will be harmful. “Latest research have additionally discovered that supplementation with sure antioxidants equivalent to vitamin E and vitamin A can enhance dangers of most cancers and all-cause mortality,” the authors clarify.
The necessity for an area meals system goes past diet. There are social and well-being advantages, too. Understanding that you’ve entry to a wide range of wholesome meals retains morale up. The power to share or commerce high-value meals objects together with your fellow astronauts can create goodwill and a need to cooperate. Consider sharing a meal with mates or household and all of the social connection it offers.
In response to the authors, there’s at present no answer to the diet roadblock for Mars missions. In actual fact, there’s at present no system designed to provide astronauts with the wanted diet for any long-duration spaceflight. “At the moment, no meals system exists to satisfy the diet, acceptability, security, and useful resource challenges of prolonged exploration missions, equivalent to a mission to Mars,” the authors write.
Nevertheless, the researchers say it’s crucial that we develop one. With out it, long-duration missions and the astronauts who crew them will endure and probably face catastrophic failure.
“An area meals system, developed and provisioned to ship all of the outlined dietary necessities, ought to be out there on each human mission as an important countermeasure to well being and efficiency decrements,” the authors write.
