Scientists have developed a salad recipe that astronauts can already cook
In the 1960s, the question arose before scientists and technologists: what kind of food should be given to astronauts so that they can consume it outside the Earth? The answer was found very quickly – they decided to give the conquerors of space tubes of food, which were already used in aviation. After a couple of decades, these tubes were replaced by freeze-dried food, which is a fine powder to which you just need to add water. But this way of eating will soon need to be replaced, because in the future astronauts plan to fly to other planets, and it will not work to take a large supply of food with them. Scientists hope that space travelers will be able to grow their own ingredients and prepare food on site. Recently, it was found out which dish they are able to cook now.
Growing plants in space
The fact that someday astronauts will have to grow ingredients for dishes on their own, scientists have known for a long time. The first plant in space was grown in 1982, inside the Soviet orbital station “Salyut-7” – the resukhovidka was able to go through the entire cycle of its development. From that moment, space explorers from all over the world began to try to grow other plants in space and achieved success. For example, in 2005, the Russian ISS crew harvested a good crop of peas, and years later, American astronauts successfully grew lettuce and planted peppers.
Experiments to grow plants in space have been going on for a long time.
There is no doubt that plants can be grown under space conditions. And what dish can be prepared using only vegetables and herbs? That’s right – a salad rich in vitamins. Recently, a research team from the NASA space agency set out to develop the perfect recipe for space-farmed ingredients. They couldn’t just mix different vegetables, because people lose more energy in space than on Earth – all ingredients must be as satisfying as possible.
Although there are dozens of crops that can meet the nutritional needs of astronauts, we needed to find those that, even in a small portion, deliver the maximum calories, the authors of the scientific work explained.
During the study, scientists studied more than a hundred different plants. To be part of the “cosmic salad”, in addition to the maximum nutritional value, they had to meet three more criteria:
- occupy a minimum of space when growing;
- grow well in space farming systems like hydroponics (an artificial environment for plants without soil);
- require as little fertilizer as possible to minimize the load on spacecraft cargo bays.
В 2022 году китайские ученые рассказали о своем намерении отправить в космос обезьян для проведения экспериментов. Вот подробности.
space salad recipe
Ultimately, scientists created a salad that consists of soybeans, poppy, barley, cabbage, peanuts, sweet potatoes and sunflower seeds. The authors of the scientific work also tried to make the dish as fragrant, tasty and looking good as possible – it is believed that these features will have a good effect on the mood of the astronauts.
In addition to nutritional value and the ability to grow plants in space, we also looked at other important aspects of the space diet to improve the well-being of astronauts, including appearance and taste, said researcher Shu Liang from the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham.
The salad, which astronauts can already prepare now, really looks beautiful.
The designed salad was offered to four volunteers. After tasting it, they noted that being astronauts they would eat it with pleasure for a long time. The ingredients of the “space salad” are known, so you can cook it even at home – if you decide to do it, share whether you liked it or not in our Telegram chat.
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Recently it became known that in 2025, scientists will try to grow plants on the surface of the moon. This will be done by the Lunaria One organization, together with scientists from the Middle East, using the Beresheet 2 spacecraft to deliver seeds and equipment for growing plants. The seeds will be placed in a sealed compartment to prevent damage. First, they will be partially grown inside a compartment with a water supply system and a camera to monitor the germination of the shoots. And only after that they will try to plant the plant on lunar soil. You can read more about this mission in the article “In 2025, will humanity begin to grow plants on the moon?”.
