The NASA Space Food Systems Laboratory (SFSL) is responsible for developing the US astronauts’ meals. The food needs to be high quality, easy to prepare in the weightlessness of space and must conform to the spacecraft stowage requirements. In addition, astronauts’ experience a loss in their sense of taste while in space and the SFSL make an extra effort to create spicy, flavour-filled food items to compensate for this.
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"Why do astronauts lose their sense of smell, and what's this got to do with a preference for fiery food? No one is sure, but there are some plausible ideas.
Michele Perchonok leads NASA's food science program. She says one possibility is what happens to the fluids in your body in a weightless environment. On Earth, gravity tends to drag those fluids downward, toward your feet. In space they go everywhere, including to your head, so after arriving in space, you begin to look like a cartoon character..."