Space Forum / Space Science / June 2005

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMQTE1DU8E_index_0.html

Ready for dinner on Mars?
European Space Agency
13 June 2005

'Martian bread and green tomato jam', 'Spirulina gnocchis' and 'Potato
and tomato mille-feuilles' are three delicious recipes that two French
companies have created for ESA and future space explorers to Mars and
other planets.

The challenge for the chefs was to offer astronauts well-flavoured
food,
made with only a few ingredients that could be grown on Mars. The
result
was 11 tasty recipes that could be used on future ESA long-duration
space missions. ADF - Alain Ducasse Formation and GEM are the two
French
companies that produced the recipes, and their mutual experience in
creating new products and "haute cuisine" have led to excellent
results.

The menus were all based on nine main ingredients that ESA envisions
could be grown in greenhouses of future colonies on Mars or other
planets. The nine must comprise at least 40% of the final diet, while
the remaining (up to) 60% could be additional vegetables, herbs, oil,
butter, salt, pepper, sugar and other seasoning brought from Earth.

"We are aiming initially at producing 40% locally for astronauts' food
on future long-duration space missions, for example to Mars," says
Christophe Lasseur, ESA's biological life-support coordinator
responsible for recycling and production of air, water and food for
long-term space missions.

"Why 40%? By growing enough plants to cover around 40% of what we eat,
we also get 'for free' the oxygen and water needed to live", explains
Lasseur.

The nine basic ingredients that Lasseur plans to grow on other planets
are: rice, onions, tomatoes, soya, potatoes, lettuce, spinach, wheat
and
spirulina - all common ingredients except the last. Spirulina is a
blue-green algae, a very rich source of nutrition with lots of protein
(65% by weight), calcium, carbohydrates, lipids and various vitamins
that cover essential nutritional needs for energy in extreme
environments.

Today all the food for astronauts in space is brought from Earth, but
this will not be possible for longer missions. Although still on the
drawing board, ESA has already started research to see what could be
grown on other planets - and what a self-supporting eco-system might
look like on Mars.

"In addition to being healthy and sufficiently nutritious for survival,
good food could potentially provide psychological support for the crew,
away from Earth for years," emphasises Lasseur.

ADF chef Armand Arnal, adds: "The main challenge was to create a wide
panel of recipes, distinct and full-flavoured, with only nine basic
products."

"Moreover, we had absolute restrictions on using salt, but were allowed
to add a bit of sugar and fat, ingredients normally essential to the
elaboration of a dish and to highlight its flavours."