Development and evaluation of bioregenerative menus for Mars habitat missions

Two 10-day menus were developed in preparation for a Mars habitat mission. The first was built on the assumption, as in previous menu development efforts for closed ecological systems, that the food system would be vegetarian, whereas the second menu introduced shelf-stable, prepackaged meat and entrée items from the current International Space Station (ISS) food system. Both menus delivered an average of 3000 cal daily but the macronutrient proportions resulted in an excess of carbohydrates and dietary fiber per mission nutritional recommendations. Generally, the individual recipes comprising both menus were deemed acceptable by internal sensory panel (average overall acceptability=7.4). The incorporation of existing ISS entrée items did not have a significant effect on the acceptability of the menus. In a final comparison, the food system upmass, or the amount of food that is shipped from the Earth, increased by 297 kg with the addition of prepackaged entrées to the menu. However, the addition of the shipped massed was counterbalanced by a 864 kg reduction in required crops. A further comparison of the crew time required for meal preparation and farming, food system power requirements, and food processing equipment mass is recommended to definitively distinguish the menus.