Great expeditions like the discovery of Australia, the treks to the North and South Poles or space flights to Mars have one thing in common; they all have to carry enough food of the appropriate quality to keep the expedition members fit and healthy. Captain Cook used a variety of foods so that none of his crew died from scurvy, the polar explorers realised that they needed food with a high energy density so they could consume enough calories to walk to the Poles and, now we are planning to send humans to Mars, we are going through the same sort of process. Experience with astronauts from the International Space Station is that, despite a rigorous, daily exercise regime and a busy schedule, they only consume about 80% of their daily calorie requirement. Weight loss and loss of muscle mass are well-known effects of space flight but the Mars trip will take about 3 years and it is essential the crew maintain both their physical and mental capabilities so they can carry out the mission successfully. One of the factors that has been proposed for the low-calorie intake during missions is the flavour of space food. Recently, the European Space Agency commissioned a small team to define the potential factors that might affect flavour perception in space food. This talk will describe the conditions during space flight and propose some of the team’s hypotheses that link flavour to the low-calorie intake. Discussion and debate on these hypotheses are welcomed.

To Mars and back – with added flavour!

2019 Spring National Meeting

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