MEDIET experiment for ESA/RSA/COOP ITALIA
Project Daniele Bedini
ME.DIET EXPERIMENT
24th April 2004
On Board the Zvezda Russian Module of International Space Station, from 9am to 10:30am, two Russian astronauts Alexander Kaleri and Gennadi Padalka, conducted the “MeDiet Experiment” (Mediterranean Diet Experiment).
Developed for the DELTA mission, April 2004, by the consortium IACSA of the University of Florence, head by Daniele Bedini, the experiment was sponsored by Coop Italia and supported by ESA and RSA (Russian Space Agency). Head of the experiment and research activities of the consortium IACSA was the architect Daniele Bedini who aimed to change the astronauts diets adding to it Mediterranean food.
The Mediet food, made from top quality Mediterranean products, was served to demonstrate that the ‘fast food’ of the 21st century can be delicious and nutritious at the same time. So the on the International Space Station (ISS) had been served five foods typical of a Mediterranean diet:
– dried Pachino tomatoes
– Tuscan Pecorino cheese
– piadina from Romagna
– peaches
– Gianduiotti chocolate from Piedmont
The food has not only successfully passed all mandatory tests for use on Earth, but has also been subjected to a number of special microbiological analyses, which are required for all the nutrients and food items delivered to the International Space Station. They were all arranged in an ergonomic aluminum tray (design by Daniele Bedini’s team) and cut into slices. Seasoned with an oil whose viscosity was sufficient to keep “in the pot” the portion not taken with a fork so as to avoid to have the bits gravitate all around the spacecraft.
All the food was fresh and packaged in meal-size portions in special space flight qualified transparent plastic bags in which it could be preserved for several months, all thanks to a technique of High Pressure Processing (4000-6000 atu) technology developed by the Scientific and Technical team of Coop Italia in Bologna and Parma, which was able to eliminate enzymes and bacteria without altering the properties of fresh food. This new method of preservation provides reliable long-term storage at room temperature, and at the same time allows the food to retain nutritional values, taste, texture and colour.
The experiment was important not only from the nutritional point of view. It was also a matter of psychological comfort. The astronauts’ reactions to such unusual food for a space mission were filmed and recorded in the questionnaire so as to know the astronauts’ level of satisfaction for the Mediterranean diet savored in orbit. Questions for the test for the crew members were concerning the perception of color, taste and appearance of the food and feelings related to the ergonomics of the special tray developed by the same research group.
MeDiet sets an example of how various international food menus can be delivered to the ISS in order to increase the variety of food available for the Station’s crew. During a long-term flight cosmonauts benefitted from having an additional variety of food, which added a little extra in making them feel that the Station was their home during their six-month stay.
