Subscribe to the BIZ WEEKLY newsletter ☞
Pierre Herme, a famous French dessert chef, sent raspberry-flavored “space macarons” to the International Space Station via the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to celebrate the birthday of French astronaut Thomas Pesquet (46, photo) in February 2017. L Astronaut Feske opens his mouth to eat a round macaron floating inside the spaceship. Space food, which used to be like combat rations, has changed. /National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Yuri Gagarin, who managed to become the first human to fly in space aboard the former Soviet spacecraft Vostok 1 in April 1961, ate minced meat in an aluminum tube shaped like toothpaste by placing it in his mouth and then squeezing the sauce chocolate for dessert as if it were squeezing toothpaste. . Even astronaut John Glenn, who boarded the American spacecraft “Friendship 7” in February of the following year, had to fill his meals with applesauce, minced meat and vegetable puree. Over the next few decades, space food evolved from tubes to vacuum-sealed plastic bags and canned food, but it didn’t get much beyond the level of “combat food” for survival.
Space food is changing. With the worldwide craze for space development and the opening of the era of private space travel, competition for “space restaurants” has become more fierce. Michelin-starred chefs, who have a limited presence around the world, are launching dishes into the sky, while food technology research into farming in space is in full swing. The desire for delicious food has broken through the stratosphere and entered space orbit.
Graphics = Kim Eui-gyun
◇The space restaurant “Xinjiang opens”
Last summer, Danish chef Torsten Schmidt (48) sent 75 chocolate bars, which he had developed over the course of seven years, to the International Space Station (ISS) for Andreas Mogensen (48), an astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA). The name of this special chocolate, created in collaboration with a food chemist for astronauts who like to eat chocolate to relieve fatigue in space, is “Spacecrafted”. Contains 70 nutrients including vitamins, selenium, zinc and lactic acid bacteria needed by astronauts.
Chef Schmidt was previously researching an organic three-course meal for astronauts and realized that astronauts’ sense of taste dulls due to gravity in space. Pressure is applied to your nose and the food tastes bland, as if you have a cold. He said: “The food we eat is connected to our senses, hormones, motor skills and emotions,” and added: “Physical, biological and chemical research is absolutely necessary for the development of space food.”
Clockwise from left: ① Space chocolate by Danish chef Torsten Schmidt ② Meal by American astronaut John Glenn in 1962 ③ Paella by a Spanish star chef provided by private spaceship “Axiom 1” in 2022. /Provided by Space Crafted, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and Jose Andres
Alain Ducasse (68), considered one of France’s best chefs, is known as a “star chef from space” who spread gourmet cuisine throughout the galaxy. Since 2006 he has been sending congratulatory food to ESA astronauts every New Year or on various anniversaries and has created 40 space recipes, including vegetarian and gluten-free menus. ESA has been working on space food research since 1993, when a French astronaut who visited the Russian space station Mir said: “Everything was good except the food.”
The results are coming to light recently. A representative example is the space course developed by Michelin-starred French chef Thierry Max (65) with physics and chemistry expert Raphael Aumont. The space course menu tasted by French astronaut Thomas Pesquet (46), who traveled to the ISS aboard a Space It, was beautiful.
◇The secret of the taste of the space restaurant
The “cosmic cuisine” is healthier than Earth’s, but uses only organic ingredients instead of chemical seasonings. Since it is not possible to sprinkle floating pepper on food in space, pepper water was also invented. For the wine sauce, only the alcohol was removed using a rotary evaporator used in chemical laboratories. All foods retain their flavor even after 60 minutes of sterilization at 140 degrees. I also used calcium rich water for bone health. The dessert is sugar-free, so even diabetics can enjoy it.
Clockwise from left: ① French Michelin-starred chef Thierry Max (right) develops space food with physics and chemistry expert Raphael Aumont ② Space food “low-temperature cooked salmon” created by top French chef Alain Ducasse ③ Thierry Max A space dessert I made. / University of Saclay, Paris, France · AP
Chef Max said: “Astronauts should be seen as sports players who require a high level of physical fitness. As they are confined to a spacecraft for six months, they must pay special attention to their food to avoid gaining weight.” Pierre Herme, a famous French dessert chef, sent raspberry macaroons prepared for the space environment to SpaceX in 2017. The space macarons were baked for an hour longer to make them harder than on Earth and prevent them from falling apart. This is because leaked debris can get trapped in the filter system and cause problems.
Participants in a space trip planned by private space company Axiom Space in 2022. A former NASA astronaut and three businessmen from the United States, Canada and Israel participated, paying $55.35 million each. /Provided by Axiom Space
Commercial space travel is raising the bar for restaurants, too. In April 2022, for the first time in 22 years since the launch of the ISS, a space travel team composed entirely of civilians undertook a 10-day round trip aboard the “Axiom 1” spacecraft. Three businessmen from the United States, Canada and Israel participated in the tour organized by private space company Axiom Space, paying $55.35 million (about 73 billion won) per person. The meal on this “expensive” tour also included space paella (fried rice with seafood) developed by Spanish star chef José Andrés over the course of a year. The UK Guardian said: “As private space companies such as Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic attract passengers with deep pockets, the concept of space travel is changing from ‘self-exercise training’ to ‘wellness tour’.” getting creative in space catering.” “I took on the challenge and the opportunity,” he said. Andoni Luis Aduritz, famous for his artistic molecular cuisine, has also developed space recipes such as “Cauliflower with strawberry cream” that will awaken your dull space palate.
◇Are human waste and plastic bottles also space food?
While space gastronomy research is booming in Europe, the United States is pursuing disruptive innovations. In addition to self-sustaining agricultural systems in space, funds are also invested in resource recycling technology that turns waste and human waste into food.
Also in the spotlight is “space agriculture,” which studies techniques for growing salads and flowers in a space environment. / Provided by Interstellar Lab
Behex, a startup born out of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), began developing technology to convert plastic into food last year. With support from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), this company is researching technology to grow artificial steaks and chicken breasts using biomass produced by reacting plastic waste with microorganisms. In 2015, NASA allocated $200,000 for research into food technology made by recycling astronauts’ human waste.
Subscribe to the BIZ WEEKLY newsletter ☞
2024-01-18 08:02:35
#era #enjoy #food #Earth #space #orbit
