NPR:
After a few days in space, astronauts start craving spicier
food, and researchers are looking into the reason why. Jean
Hunter, a food engineer at Cornell University, says that space
travel can cause humans to lose their sense of smell. That
loss, says Michele Perchonok, the head of NASA's food science
program, may be due to the weightless environment. On Earth,
gravity causes body fluids to settle toward the feet, but in
space, those fluids can float freely throughout the body. The
retention of fluids in the head can have the same effect as
congestion from a cold or virus. Congestion lessens the ability
to smell and, therefore, taste food, which can lead to a
preference for hot peppers and other spicy items. To develop
the best menu options for people whose sense of smell is
diminished, Kimberly Binsted of the University of Hawaii at
Manoa is recruiting participants for a
Mars
habitat simulation. Besides working to improve the food
choices, Binsted also encourages astronauts to focus on
experimenting with new food combinations while in space as a
way to relieve the stress.
