Tag: Astronaut nutrition

The first human to eat in space, Yuri Gagarin, consumed pureed beef and liver paste from a tube. This simple beginning has evolved into a complex and varied menu for modern astronauts, answering the question, 'What do they eat in space?' with surprising detail and diversity.

According to research published by the National Institutes of Health, unicellular algae like spirulina and chlorella have been used by astronauts for decades due to their impressive nutritional density. These and other nutritional aids are part of a carefully managed regimen of what food supplements do space travellers use to maintain health and performance in a harsh extraterrestrial environment.

According to research from NASA, astronauts can lose bone mass at a rate of 1% per month in space, a rate comparable to people suffering from osteoporosis. This rapid degradation highlights the critical role of targeted nutrition in spaceflight, especially the need for specific vitamins to counteract the physiological stresses of the environment.

A single kilogram of dried spirulina, a type of cyanobacteria, has the nutritional value of about 1,000 kilograms of vegetables. This incredible efficiency is a key reason why do astronauts eat cyanobacteria, especially on long-duration deep-space missions.