Does food smell and taste different to astronauts in space and what steps can be taken to mitigate this in the future? This is what a recent study published in the International Journal of Food Science & Technology as an international team of researchers investigated how food aromas could be altered to amplify food taste. This study holds the potential to help researchers improve diets for isolated individuals, specifically in space or nursing home residents.
For the study, the researchers analyzed food odor perception of vanilla, almond, and lemon among 54 participants between 18 to 39 years old in a neutral setting and a virtual reality (VR) simulation of the International Space Station (ISS) with a key trait being they had no history of vertigo or motion sickness. The participants were asked to rate the potency of the aromas in both settings to compare any differences between the two environments.
Image of study co-author, Dr. Gail Iles from RMIT University, smelling an aroma sample while wearing a VR headset. (Credit: Seamus Daniel, RMIT University)
In the end, the participants reported notably greater potencies for almond and vanilla odors in the ISS VR simulation compared to the neutral environment, along with participants who reported reduced sensitivity to all odors noted greater potency for almond, as well.
“One of the long-term aims of the research is to make better tailored foods for astronauts, as well as other people who are in isolated environments, to increase their nutritional intake closer to 100%,” said Dr. Julia Low, who is a senior lecturer at RMIT University in Australia and a co-author on the study.
Dr. Low noted how the ISS VR simulations changed the spatial perception of the participants, which she hypothesized played a role in their changed odor perception. This could mean that weightlessness experienced by astronauts, specifically pertaining to fluid shifts in the body, could cause the same difference in odor perceptions compared to being on Earth. The goal is to develop diet plans for future astronauts on long-term missions that provide the essential nutrients they need while in space.
“What we’re going to see in the future with the Artemis missions are much longer missions, years in length, particularly when we go to Mars, so we really need to understand the problems with diet and food and how crew interact with their food,” said Dr. Gail Iles, who is an associate professor at RMIT University and a co-author on the study.
What new discoveries about food odors, diet, and space travel will researchers make in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: International Journal of Food Science & Technology, EurekAlert!