Personalization and Fortification of In-Space Manufactured Emulsified Beverages for Long-Term Space Travel

The current trend of individualized food items (nutrient content and flavor) can be particularly valuable to support people's health and well-being in isolated environments where access to fresh foods and diverse nutrition is difficult. At the same time, bioactive compounds and micronutrients can be employed to countermeasure any health hazards characteristic for the respective environment. Outer space is well-known as a hazardous environment due to microgravity, space radiation, and extreme living situation, whereas food monotony has led to insufficient caloric intake in the past. We are proposing to adapt the current trends of fortification and personalization for a novel space food system to support astronaut's health and increase food choice. Beverages as food matrix allow straightforward adjustment of their composition, whereas beverage emulsions as formulation strategy allow encapsulation of hydrophobic ingredients. This literature review gives an overview of food and beverage fortification on Earth, current and in-development space food systems, common space health risks with the potential to be attenuated by nutrition/supplementation, as well as bioactive compounds potentially suitable for beverage fortification. Finally, a process concept is presented that could enable in-space manufacturing of beverages for future space travel.