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Kylie Haynie

Mrs Chawkat

Independent Research II GT

14 November 2017

Annotated Bibliography

Notes-

INTRODUCTION:

Very little research has gone into studying the preservation of food in microgravity.

Astronauts get their nutrients from prepackaged foods, these foods must be able to last for up to

5 years. Due to storage and preservation issues, astronauts cannot consume fresh or refrigerated

food. Food in space is freeze dried and enclosed in a vacuum airtight container. The following

vitamins were found to diminish in nutritional value rapidly in previous experiments; Vitamin

B1, B9, K, and C.

RESULTS:

Vitamin D, Vitamin K, Potassium and Calcium were not able meet the requirements for

an astronaut’s nutritional intake. An astronaut struggles to maintain stable levels of Vitamin D,

due to minimal sunlight exposure, and the vitamin does not preserve well in the food consumed

on board. Potassium and Calcium levels were roughly 20% lower than intended and the levels of

Vitamin K remaining in foods diminished by 13% daily. The conditions these vitamins were

measured in was under a controlled environment, the experiment lasted 3 years in 21 degrees

Celsius storage room.

DISCUSSION:
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It can be concluded that there are certain important vitamins that astronauts are not

getting adequate amounts of. This is due to the harsh environment in microgravity, as it increases

the rate of degradation and forms of irradiation as well as thermal processing, which all affect the

preservation of these macronutrients. Currently, scientists are studying the differences between

the stability of foods made using microwave- assisted thermal stabilization (MATS) compared to

the current model of thermal processing. Since the MATS have shorter thermal exposure rates

due to the slowed levels of chemical degradation at reduced temperatures (lower than 21 degrees

celsius), scientists believe it will fix and promote vitamin stability.

Citation-

Cooper, M., Perchonok, M., & Douglas, G. L. (2017). Initial assessment of the nutritional quality

of the space food system over three years of ambient storage. Npj Microgravity, 3(1).

doi:10.1038/s41526-017-0022-z

Summary-

A sample of foods derived from the standard menu onboard the ISS (International Space

Station), were assessed on preservation (109/203 foods). The amount of macronutrients

remaining were measured on an initial to one year to three year scale. The following

macronutrients for this experiment used were; Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6, Vitamin A, Vitamin

B1, Vitamin C, Calcium, Potassium, Vitamin K, and Vitamin D. Different foods from different

food groups were taken and assessed based on preservation.

Evaluation-

This current source was written by Maya Cooper, Michele Perchonok, and Grace L.

Douglas, all of whom work at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX and are senior
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scientists. The journal was created to inform other scientists on the preservation of food in

microgravity over the span of three years. The objective of this journal is to compare the

different micro and macronutrients in food and asses their compatibility with being preserved for

three years in space. For example, within the journal, there are graphs that present the different

types of vitamins and minerals and measures the overall preservation of the substance over the

course of three years. Coverage for this journal is considered broad due to the in depth analysis

on the effectiveness of a variety of substances and offers background on this particular study.

According to the academic study, “Human Adaptation to Spaceflight: The Role of Nutrition”

composed by other senior scientists at NASA, the information stated in this report is accurate.

Two sides of the story are identified and explained, the scientists recognized that very little

research has gone into studying the preservation of food in microgravity and that their results are

limited.