Robbins 1

Lexi Robbins
Dr. Lisa Baird
13 October 2023
COMM 122:36
Food Preservation for Space Travel

One of the most essential things to think about when planning a trip to Mars is how astronauts
are going to have a continuous supply of food. Two books, Hydroponically Growing a Holistic
Superfood Diet for Mars Exploration and Conceptual Design for a Food Production, Water, and
Waste Processing, and Gas Regeneration Module agree that one if not the biggest problems
associated with space travel is the issue of storing food. The main problem with this is the
amount of space it requires on the rocket, as well as the mass it takes away from the potential
payload. They do, however, have different remedies for this problem. Due to the quite limited
amount of cargo space available on the rockets, people and space organizations must get creative
in how we use this crucial space to the greatest effect possible. There are two main ideas as to
how to solve this: growing most or all of the crew’s food in space or finding a way to store their
food in a light and simultaneously volume-dense form. Beyond simply getting food into orbit,
one must also consider the disposal of waste in a safe manner. Conceptual Design states “Solid
waste products have been collected and returned to earth for disposal.”, which means that
whatever you take with you into space around earth, you must bring back down with you. This
takes up room that could go towards collecting space debris, rocks, or other objects. If you find a
way to condense your food stash into a smaller space, there will be more room for the astronauts
to do research and bring back samples. As well as the room the waste takes up, it also can prove
quite dangerous to the crew as it can become space debris if ejected form the craft or pose health
problems if kept aboard for extended periods of time.
One of the biggest differences between these two viewpoints is that Hydroponically Growing a
Holistic Superfood Diet for Mars Exploration believes that we should learn how to effectively
grow large amounts of food in space, while Conceptual Design for a Food Production, Water,
and Waste Processing, and Gas Regeneration Module believes that we should come up with a
way to bring food into space, and then reuse the waste produced from its consumption so we
don’t have to store the waste or bring unnecessary amounts of food. Both viewpoints are valid
options, however both have their limitations. Growing food would require extensive research
because according to Hydroponically Growing a Holistic Superfood Diet for Mars Exploration,
we would have to consider the fact that the plants would need to survive with little to no water at
times. There is also the fact that a hydroponics bay on the ship adds a certain amount of dead
weight that remains constant thought the journey. For instance, adding a hydroponics bay to a
small ship would hurt the performance more than adding the same bay to a much larger ship, as it
would make up a smaller portion of the mass. Conversely, preserving and storing food makes
 Robbins 2

more sense for smaller ships and shorter distances as the missions would benefit from the lack of
added dead weight as the food will be used and ejected, making the ship lighter over time.

Humans have, from the start, had a fascination with discovery and knowledge. This fixation has
pushed us to develop new technologies allowing us to travel further for ever-expanding periods
of time. Just as the early settlers of America required innovative methods and new techniques of
storage to make the treacherous journey across the Atlantic ocean in pursuit of the New World,
the same imperative now drives us to do the same. We are now in an era where traveling to other
planets is withing the realm of possibility, and perhaps, in a few decades or centuries, we could
be leaving the solar system entirely for greener pastures. This is where the human problem
arises; we have already sent probes to other planets and indeed beyond our solar system, but the
requirements of humans have prevented travel beyond the influence of the earth and moon.
Solving the problems associated with human survival is the single biggest hurdle we must pass,
but once we do, it is smooth sailing.
 Robbins 3

Sources
Nicks, O. W. (1986). Conceptual design for a food production, water and waste processing, and gas
regeneration module semi-annual progress report, grant no. NAG 9-161. Texas A&M University.

Pezzella, Marianna, et al. Hydroponically Growing a Holistic Superfood Diet for Mars Exploration.