Food Intake and Nutritional Status During a Long Duration Spaceflight Simulation

As part of the preparation of long duration manned spaceflights, ESA started in 1990 a series of ground-based simulations aimed at evaluating the physiological and psychological issues of living in confined conditions for limited and constrained communities. The last campaign, called HUBES took place at IBMP (Institute for Biomedical Problems), Moscow, from September 1994 to Mid-January 1995. During 135 days, a crew of 3 Russian members was placed in living / working conditions simulating a long duration flight on board the Russian MIR station.

During this period, an experiment was held to study the crewmembers' food intake. This paper presents the main features of the food system implemented as well as the scientific findings.