Advanced food packaging systems for space exploration missions.

Since the advent of space exploration missions, various space agencies have been working to improve the quality of food and nutrition for crew members. Food processing, preservation, and packaging have evolved with the advancement of technology. Most of the food available on earth can be consumed in space by changing its form. Shelf life and food acceptability can be enhanced by using suitable packaging materials. Here we review space food, which has been categorized into bite-size food, rehydratable food, thermostabilized food, intermediate moisture food, and irradiated food. Additionally, packaging materials and different packaging forms for space food are reviewed. Finally, the review highlights the challenges in space food packaging and food packaging trends of the Defence research and development organization (DRDO), the Japan aerospace exploration agency (JAXA), and the National aeronautics and space administration (NASA).
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper
(Copyright © 2023 The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)