Food preparation alternatives and food acceptability under short term Mars analogue mission conditions

摘要

Crews of the 2009-2010 season at the Mars Desert Research Station, a Mars analogue facility, lived under Mars simulation conditions for two-week "missions" during which their food supply consisted of "instant" freeze-dried/rehydratable foods, shelf-stable packaged foods, and shelf-stable staple ingredients requiring no refrigeration. Crews alternated between days of no cooking, using only "instant" and prepackaged foods, and cooking days during which the main meal and other foods were prepared by crewmembers from shelf-stable ingredients. Equipment provided included a breadmaker, stove, oven, sprouting kit, and a small refrigerator/freezer. We assessed crewmembers' mood state, self-reported state of health, food preparation time, and food intake by daily surveys. Crewmembers rated their liking for the foods served at their main meal, and noted their relative intake of each food. They were also invited to comment on the "high point" and "low point" of each day's experience at the station. Our hypothesis was that crews would prefer custom prepared meals to instant meals despite the burden of preparation time and effort. Usable 7-day datasets were obtained for 42 of the 61 crewmembers and 30 crewmembers 14-day datasets.During the 2009-2010 season satisfaction with the food was consistently higher (P < 10~(-4)) for the custom prepared meals than the "instant" meals. Self-reported food intake was also significantly higher for the main meal (P <10~(-4)) and the entire day (P < .002) on cooking days than on days of eating "instant" meals. Comments on food quality and the experience of food preparation made up approximately 20% of the "high point" comments on cooking days, but only 2% of the "high point" comments on instant food days. In 2009-10, the combined labor of cooking, setup and cleaning averaged 80 minutes for "instant" main meals and 115 minutes for "cooked" meals, but the difference was not significant due to extremely high variances. No differences in self-reported mood or health were noted. The study was modified for the 2010 season to improve the quality of "instant" foods.