鈥淔reeze-dried ice cream again?鈥�
Future Mars explorers might never need to say those words thanks to six would-be astronaut chefs who spent 120 days on a simulated Mars mission. On 13 August, the crew of the project will emerge from a habitat on the slopes of a volcano carrying recipes ideas fit for a Martian colony.
Astronauts on the International Space Station mostly eat pre-packaged dehydrated food, which is designed to be tasty and nutritious. Just add water. Mars-bound explorers could make do with this fare on the ride over, but it wouldn鈥檛 stay good long enough for use in a Martian habitat, which could see astronauts living on the planet for six months to a year.
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Beyond the challenge of keeping food fresh, there鈥檚 the problem of menu fatigue, says principal investigator of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Previous space mission simulations showed that astronauts can burn out on eating the same thing every day. If they get bored with the food, they might stop eating enough to stay healthy.
鈥淲e decided to go backwards to go forwards and to look at the 19th-century explorer鈥檚 approach to feeding a crew,鈥� says Hunter. Early polar explorers, for instance, carried a variety of non-perishable ingredients that could be combined and cooked even in extreme environments.
Mars sushi
In the NASA-funded HI-SEAS experiment, six crew members were locked inside a mock habitat on the northern slope of Mauna Loa, an environment as Mars-like as any on Earth. The habitat was stocked with a as well as standard pots, pans and utensils, and a stove, oven, microwave, bread maker and crock-pot.
In between simulated space walks and conducting their own research projects, the crew gathered for meals that were split between traditional freeze-dried astronaut food and dishes they could cook themselves from the available food items. The team were encouraged to create their own recipes, and they solicited ideas from the public via the mission website.
In the end, included delicacies not typically associated with space travel, such as vegetable sushi, jambalaya and pelmeni (Russian dumplings). On non-cooking days, the crew made do with things like oatmeal, tortillas and freeze-dried meats and vegetables.
The spice of space
Although it is too early to draw firm conclusions from the simulation, Hunter says the crew鈥檚 ingenuity with the freeze-dried food could offer good lessons for future Mars missions.
鈥淭hey turned out to be more creative with the pre-packaged foods, under the limitations of non-cooking days, than we anticipated,鈥� says Hunter. When she expected simple meals of rehydrated rice and turkey, for example, the crew made a build-your-own turkey-salad-wrap station.
鈥淭hey got great psychological rewards out of exercising their creativity in the kitchen,鈥� says Hunter. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e out there for a couple of years, the walls around you don鈥檛 change, you can鈥檛 go outside, and it鈥檚 the same people. You have to create your own variety and novelty. Creativity is maybe an underappreciated part of that.鈥�
