1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,760 One of the biggest challenges facing NASA in the development of long-duration space 2 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:10,660 missions is food. 3 00:00:10,660 --> 00:00:16,320 In centuries past, explorers could almost always find food in their surroundings, even 4 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:18,920 if they were thousands of miles from home. 5 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:23,000 Of course, this same luxury will not be afforded to space travelers. 6 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:27,960 They will have to rely solely on food that is taken with them or that can be grown during 7 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:31,880 the mission, in the vehicle, or on the planetary surface. 8 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:37,080 Although this may seem daunting, researchers at NASA are now developing viable systems 9 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:41,160 to help keep our astronauts well-fed on long-space missions. 10 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:47,080 I spoke with National Space Biomedical Research Institute food scientist Dr. Michelle Prochonik 11 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:50,320 here at NASA Johnson Space Center to find out more. 12 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:52,320 Well, we have several goals. 13 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:53,320 First is safety. 14 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:57,080 We have to make sure the food is safe so that the crew doesn't get sick. 15 00:00:57,080 --> 00:00:59,400 Second of all, we have to make sure it's nutritious. 16 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,800 The crew is getting all of their nutrition from the food. 17 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:04,920 And thirdly is acceptability. 18 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:07,920 If the food isn't acceptable, the crew is not going to like it. 19 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:12,040 And we know that as the duration of the missions get longer, we need to make sure that that 20 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:14,080 food is acceptable to them. 21 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:18,460 And we do testing, and we'll be doing testing here at Johnson Space Center on the acceptability 22 00:01:18,460 --> 00:01:23,000 of the food with the general Johnson Space Center public and then later with the actual 23 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:24,240 crews. 24 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:26,520 So what are some of the challenges that you'll have to overcome? 25 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:30,680 Well, first of all, it's going to take us six to eight months to get to Mars with the 26 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:32,160 current propulsion system. 27 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:36,920 And yes, there are engineers here at NASA trying to get the propulsion systems improved, 28 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,000 but right now it's six to eight months. 29 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:40,880 And of course, six to eight months home. 30 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:45,920 And because of the way the planets align with each other, it's going to be 18 months on 31 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:47,040 the surface. 32 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,160 So the mission is going to be somewhere on the order of two and a half to three years 33 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:51,320 long. 34 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:54,720 So what that means is we're going to have two kinds of food systems. 35 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:56,720 The first is a transit food system. 36 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:01,160 On the vehicle, because of microgravity, it is very difficult or almost impossible to 37 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:04,160 do any sort of preparation or cooking of the food. 38 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:08,520 So we're going to have a food system that's very similar to the ISS food system, pre-packaged 39 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:09,960 foods. 40 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:14,960 Most likely they'll be stored at room temperature, so we won't have a refrigerator or a freezer. 41 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,840 Well, that gives us some challenges because it's very difficult to find some foods that 42 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:23,040 have a three to five year shelf life at room temperature and that you're not keeping it 43 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:25,800 frozen or even at refrigerated temperatures. 44 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:30,000 The other part of the challenge is looking at the packaging materials to make sure that 45 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,880 we have the barrier properties to provide us with that three to five year challenge. 46 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:34,880 So we have that issue. 47 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:36,000 Now, think about it. 48 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:40,800 Six months, you've got all these packages of food because at each meal you've got about 49 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:45,600 three to five packages of food for each crew member times three meals and snacks. 50 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:46,880 How do you store all this? 51 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:50,400 Not only are you storing it at ambient or room temperatures, but you have to keep track 52 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:51,400 of it. 53 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:55,080 You have to do food management and tracking and knowing where it is and how much you've 54 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:56,920 used and when you've used it. 55 00:02:56,920 --> 00:03:00,640 So the challenges are unbelievable even just for the transit mission. 56 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:05,960 And even though we've done it already on ISS and Shuttle, we've got that many more challenges 57 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:07,640 to go after for this. 58 00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:12,400 One of the main challenges for NASA planners will be to provide food that will help keep 59 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:17,960 crews healthy and happy, while also helping the astronauts' bodies acclimate to the rigors 60 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,640 of space travel. 61 00:03:21,640 --> 00:03:26,520 During these long missions, astronaut physiology will need to be taken into consideration. 62 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,520 The human body has adapted to the effects of gravity here on Earth. 63 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:36,440 But once gravity is reduced, the body slowly begins to adapt to its new surroundings. 64 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:43,680 During this adaptation process, weight loss, dehydration, constipation, electrolyte imbalance, 65 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:47,160 bone loss and a myriad of other problems may occur. 66 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:52,140 To help prevent or alleviate many of these problems, researchers are investigating the 67 00:03:52,140 --> 00:03:55,600 levels of nutrients each astronaut may need. 68 00:03:55,600 --> 00:04:01,000 Proper diet and exercise should counteract many of the problems associated with the physiological 69 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:02,000 changes. 70 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,120 So that takes care of the transit, of getting to Mars. 71 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:07,440 Once they're there, on Mars, then what? 72 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,120 Well, then we have the opportunity to use the gravity of Mars. 73 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:16,760 Mars has one-third gravity, so that's a little bit of gravity, enough to keep things down 74 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:18,640 towards our feet. 75 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:22,280 And with that, we can start looking at processing and preparing food. 76 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:27,720 Now, we may be growing some of these crops, or we may be bringing up these items in bulk, 77 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:29,640 such as soybeans or wheat. 78 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:33,080 We will have to grow the vegetables and fruits because those don't have the shelf life we 79 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:34,080 need. 80 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:38,800 When I talk about bulk, what we're saying is we're going to bring up in large quantities 81 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:43,520 unprocessed foods that you would then add in, either through processing or maybe in 82 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:44,520 the recipe. 83 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:50,560 So, for example, we would bring up large quantities of soybeans, and then we could use those soybeans 84 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:56,040 to process into texturized vegetable proteins, or maybe we make it into tofu. 85 00:04:56,040 --> 00:05:01,200 So we would have that opportunity for more variety, therefore more acceptability in the 86 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:02,200 processed food system. 87 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:06,520 We'll also be bringing up items that will help us do the preparation in the galley, 88 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:15,020 such as dried herbs and spices, or nonfat dry milk, or maybe dried egg whites, because 89 00:05:15,020 --> 00:05:20,680 it's going to be hard to bake a cookie or a cake without those kinds of ingredients, 90 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:22,840 in addition to the baking soda and baking powder. 91 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:27,360 So we're looking at all those different ingredients, what the quantities might be, and whether they 92 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:32,280 will also last that three to five year shelf life, and how we're going to store them. 93 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:37,680 I think we'll have to store the soybeans and the wheat berries at refrigerated temperatures, 94 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:41,160 and probably in a non-oxygen atmosphere. 95 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:44,840 Oxygen's not food's friend, and we want to keep the oxygen away from those bulk ingredients 96 00:05:44,840 --> 00:05:45,840 until they're used. 97 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:51,600 Other than providing bulk foods, there is also a plan for astronauts to grow food once 98 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:55,040 they arrive and set up planetary bases. 99 00:05:55,040 --> 00:06:00,320 The plan would consist of crews growing crops hydroponically, which means to grow the food 100 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,760 by using water rather than soil. 101 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:08,160 Having fresh crops would not only provide variety in the menu, but would also offer 102 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,720 great psychological benefits to the crews as well. 103 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:16,960 With both fresh foods and bulk ingredients, crews would be able to process many of the 104 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:19,360 foods that they would be eating. 105 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:24,040 Processing food would consist of taking one type of food and making it into many different 106 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:25,480 types of foods. 107 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:30,600 As Michelle mentioned, foods such as soybeans could be processed and made into tofu, soy 108 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:34,520 milk, soy oil, soy flour, and many other items. 109 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:40,680 Other foods that would be ideal for processing include potatoes, wheat, rice, tomatoes, and 110 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:41,840 peanuts. 111 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:46,920 With the right equipment, crews could potentially grow and process large amounts of the food 112 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:52,280 they would need to survive on site, rather than solely relying on food from Earth. 113 00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:57,280 The processing is not so hard down here, but now we need to worry about not bringing 114 00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:02,080 up too much weight, too much volume, and trying to be multifunctional with the equipment. 115 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:07,620 For example, maybe a piece of equipment will not only make pasta, but it will also mill 116 00:07:07,620 --> 00:07:12,320 wheat berries and it may also make cereal for breakfast. 117 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:13,320 Crew time is an issue. 118 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:18,040 You don't want the crew to be spending all their time processing and preparing the foods 119 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:25,040 because they want to be out there exploring and doing real science. 120 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:56,040 Weight is going to be a major factor in getting crews to other planets. 121 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:02,880 Knowing this, NASA planners are deciding if they should provide multifunctional processing 122 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:08,240 equipment or if they should rely on age-old proven methods of food processing. 123 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:10,240 For example, how do we make bread? 124 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:14,600 Well, we could do the more modern way of putting everything into the bread maker and letting 125 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:20,160 it happen, or we could actually just go the old-fashioned way, mix all the dough up, knead 126 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:24,160 it, let it rise, knead it again, let it rise again, and then bake it. 127 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:31,160 And we're going to have to be looking at where that fine line is on crew time versus automation 128 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:35,040 and the mass that we would have to uplift to the Mars surface. 129 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:37,560 They're not at Mars to do cooking. 130 00:08:37,560 --> 00:08:39,120 They can do that at home. 131 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:40,540 They're there to explore. 132 00:08:40,540 --> 00:08:47,540 To help make NASA's exploration goals a reality, NASA planners are also relying on outside help. 133 00:08:47,860 --> 00:08:53,620 Many colleges, universities, and other entities are performing experiments on food and processing 134 00:08:53,620 --> 00:08:57,660 equipment that may someday be used in the space program. 135 00:08:57,660 --> 00:09:02,560 The expertise that is being provided will help focus and quicken the development of 136 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:06,020 technologies that will make exploration possible. 137 00:09:06,020 --> 00:09:11,300 We are a small group here, and we're not the experts in everything, so we go externally. 138 00:09:11,300 --> 00:09:17,020 For example, we have a researcher at UC Davis looking at developing, and he's actually built 139 00:09:17,020 --> 00:09:21,900 a prototype on a multipurpose fruit and vegetable processor, testing it using tomatoes, but 140 00:09:21,900 --> 00:09:27,820 again, a multipurpose piece of equipment that will dice, cut, concentrate the tomatoes or 141 00:09:27,820 --> 00:09:29,020 anything else. 142 00:09:29,020 --> 00:09:33,780 One of our faculty fellows actually has looked at radiation issues. 143 00:09:33,780 --> 00:09:36,620 We know that radiation is going to be an issue. 144 00:09:36,620 --> 00:09:41,980 We know it for the crew as well as, we believe, for the food, but we don't know at what extent. 145 00:09:41,980 --> 00:09:47,260 So Dr. Wilson's been working on how radiation affects soybean functionality, and he's looking 146 00:09:47,260 --> 00:09:48,260 at it on two sides. 147 00:09:48,260 --> 00:09:49,540 Again, the safety side. 148 00:09:49,540 --> 00:09:53,380 If you're going to bring up bulk ingredients, you need to make sure they're clean and safe 149 00:09:53,380 --> 00:09:55,260 before you bring them up. 150 00:09:55,260 --> 00:10:00,140 Then, he also is looking at what kind of radiation they may incur during a mission to Mars. 151 00:10:00,140 --> 00:10:07,100 We don't have the atmosphere here on Earth on Mars, so he's looking at how that's affecting, 152 00:10:07,100 --> 00:10:11,900 for him, the tofu processing or manufacture, and he's finding that, yes, at higher levels 153 00:10:11,900 --> 00:10:17,940 of radiation, the tofu isn't made quite as firm, and it has an off flavor, an aroma to 154 00:10:17,940 --> 00:10:20,660 it because we get that rancidity from the oil. 155 00:10:20,660 --> 00:10:24,460 Well, Michelle, it seems like you and your co-workers really have your work cut out for 156 00:10:24,460 --> 00:10:25,460 you. 157 00:10:25,460 --> 00:10:26,460 We do. 158 00:10:26,460 --> 00:10:27,900 It's going to be a huge challenge, but we're going to do it. 159 00:10:27,940 --> 00:10:32,940 Although the Mars mission is more than 25 years away, we're still going to be able to 160 00:10:32,940 --> 00:10:37,940 potentially use some of the technologies that we're working on here on Earth before that 161 00:10:37,940 --> 00:10:39,220 time. 162 00:10:39,220 --> 00:10:43,180 So what we're learning today will not only help our astronauts, but will help the people 163 00:10:43,180 --> 00:10:44,860 here on Earth also. 164 00:10:44,860 --> 00:10:50,420 With proper cultivation, many of the technologies that are being developed to help our astronauts 165 00:10:50,420 --> 00:10:56,980 eat well in space may also someday be used to help feed people back here on Earth. 166 00:10:56,980 --> 00:11:01,180 An added byproduct of plants being grown on permanent planetary bases is that plants 167 00:11:01,180 --> 00:11:04,820 will not only be eaten by astronauts, but they will also be providing oxygen. 168 00:11:04,820 --> 00:11:09,380 In a moment, we'll meet an astronaut who will give us a first-person account of what it 169 00:11:09,380 --> 00:11:11,660 is like to live and eat in space. 170 00:11:11,660 --> 00:11:16,660 But first, did you know that the first time solid food was eaten in space was on Gemini 171 00:11:16,660 --> 00:11:17,860 3? 172 00:11:17,860 --> 00:11:22,540 Astronaut John Young carried two meal packages to sample on his five-hour mission. 173 00:11:22,540 --> 00:11:27,300 While in orbit, Young surprised fellow astronaut Virgil Grissom when he presented him with 174 00:11:27,300 --> 00:11:32,180 a corned beef sandwich on rye, which had been purchased at a delicatessen in Cocoa Beach, 175 00:11:32,180 --> 00:11:33,180 Florida. 176 00:11:33,180 --> 00:11:37,460 Although Grissom enjoyed the gesture, he did not finish the sandwich because it was producing 177 00:11:37,460 --> 00:11:38,780 so many crumbs.