Food technologies for space missions

Provision of safe and nutritious food for space missions is very critical; failure to provide the appropriate food along with suitable delivery and disposal systems may cause risk and hamper the mission success or crew performance. The major requirements of space-specific foods include lightweight, compact size, quick preparation, ease of consumption, low fragmentation, high acceptability, wholesomeness, stability, variety, gastrointestinal compatibility, and safe food in a convenient form with longer shelf life. Significant developments have taken place in food technologies in the last few decades to attain more appealing and nutritious food. The technologies have gone beyond the normal cooking of foods to modern food processing and packaging technologies which enabled the food materials to remain safe for longer durations without affecting their nutritional and organoleptic attributes. Modern space food technologies have transformed the space food and delivery systems for low orbit crews to those stationed at the International Space Station. Research on the cultivation of fresh vegetables in space under microgravity conditions is also gaining momentum. In general, thermo-stabilized, irradiated, rehydratable, natural and fresh foods are preferred for space missions. These include ready-to-eat foods, beverages, juice powders, high-energy bars, instant mixes, fresh fruits and vegetables, etc. These products need to be in strict compliance with the space standards in terms of nutritional and microbiological quality. Certain food delivery systems such as food rehydration stations, water/beverage dispensing assembly, provision of heating/cooling/serving of foods, etc. are also needed in space missions for optimal delivery of food materials. All these technologies are very critical under microgravity conditions for the consumption of food materials by space crews. This review provides an overview of space food history, design criteria, packaging methods, and emerging technologies supporting space mission advancements.