Space has not traditionally been a destination to enjoy delicious food. Without gravity to help clear their sinuses, astronauts are left with a dulled sense of taste.
But, at BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo, associate professor of marketing Carlos Velasco and colleagues are working to develop more appetising meals for space travellers. “Space captured my imagination early in life and we saw an opportunity to tackle some of the challenges that space travellers may face,” says Velasco, a “multisensory marketing” specialist. “We want to position food — which is a multisensory experience in itself — beyond nutrition.”
Together with academics at the University of Sussex in the UK and Carnegie Mellon University in the US, his team at BI Norwegian has developed three concepts for use in zero gravity. These include a mixing pod where solid spices are dissolved into food for flavour and texture; a 3D printer that astronauts can use to make food that enhances the emotional experience of eating; and small bites with distinct flavours from different cultures or moments in life that are combined with virtual and augmented reality.