Customized Nutritional Drinks May One Day Help Fuel Astronauts Who Travel to Mars
Researchers are developing customizable nutritional drinks for astronauts on long missions to Mars. These drinks, created using nanoemulsions, contain essential nutrients and can be mixed in space to cater to individual preferences. Further studies are needed to ensure safety and taste before they can be used in future missions.
- ▪The drinks are designed to contain essential nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids and can be produced both on Earth and in space.
- ▪Researchers created six different recipes with varying sweetness levels and flavors to meet astronauts' nutritional needs.
- ▪Before being used in space missions, the drinks must meet food safety standards and be tested for taste.
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Broccoli au gratin, barbecued beef brisket, and granola topped with blueberries. These were just some of the items on the menu during the Artemis II expedition. Fortunately for today’s astronauts, space food has come a long way since the 1960s, when Yuri Gagarin became the first person to eat in space after consuming a less-than-appetizing tube of beef and liver paste.Still, as space agencies gear up for longer missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond, the challenge of developing nutritionally rich food that can survive long journeys remains. One solution, say researchers writing in ACS Food Science & Technology, could come in the form of customizable beverages. Chemists from the U.K.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Discover Magazine.
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