A new certification aims to promote the development of sophisticated space food needed for long-term stays in space.
Amid big dreams of space travel, an academic society has created an accreditation system for space food specialists. An educational program required for certification has been prepared, and applications for its online course are now being accepted.
So-called space food and health advisers will be certified by nutritional experts of the Japan Society of Nutrition and Food Science.
Muscle mass and bone density decrease in microgravity environments, and astronauts on the International Space Station exercise several hours daily as a preventive measure. For civilians, however, the development of “sophisticated space food” is expected to prevent muscle atrophy and osteoporosis simply through diet.
A research group led by Tokushima University, which offers a space nutrition course covering physical changes and necessary nutrients in space, has developed space food using protein in soybeans to suppress muscle atrophy, but the lack of researchers in the field has been a challenge.
The nutrition and food science society considered it a priority to nurture specialists in the field, prompting the creation of the Japanese Space Food Certification online educational program, led by research facilities including Tokushima University and Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine.