The nutrition of astronautics during long flights is discussed, especially with respect to the changes brought about in the body by the condition of weightlessness

Ushakov, A. S.

English

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NASA TM-76436
NUTRITION DURING LONG FLIGHT
j1. S. Ushakov
(NASA -TM-76436) NUTRITION DURING LONG
	 N81-18657
FLIGHT (National Aeronautics and Space
Administration) 7 p HC A02/CIF A01 CSCL 06K
Unclas
G5/54 16563
Translation of "Pitaniye v dlitel'nom polete," Zctorov've, Ivo. 4 (304),
1980, pp. 4-5•
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NATION U AERONAUTICS AND SPACE, ADYINISTRATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20546	 OCTOB:.R 1980
rF CA3F
NASA TM-76436
NUTRITION DURING LONG FLIGHT
	 October X80—_ _
aan=o!on Cod.
A. S. Ushakov, Professor
	 ------ ---^
NASW-_31 
Leo Kanner Associates
	
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Redwood City, California 94063	 _ Translation
National Aeronautics and Space Adminis-
tration,Washington, D.C.  20546
Translation of "Pitaniye v dlitel'nom polete,” Zdorov'ye, 	 {
No. 4 (304), 1980, pp. 4-5.
rThe nutrition of astronauts during long flights is discussed,
lespecially with respect to the changes brought about in the
body by the condition of weightlessness.
This copyrighted Soviet work is
reproduced and sold by NTIS un-'
der license from VAAP, the Sovi-
et copyright agency. No fur-
ther copyirlt; is permitted with-
A14 p rmissior^ fr4,:;,
Unclassified
	 Unclassified
	 5
11'UTRITIO d DURINOT LONG FLIGHT
A. S. Ushakov
Professor
A sh— time, in the historical sense, separates us from the first /4*
human flight to space, but during this period about 100 astronauts have
completed flights, and the total time man has been in space has been
about b years. The appearance of permanent orbital stations and
reusable space systems will significantly expand the opening up of space
in the near future.
Life in space is impossible without the creation of conditions that
are similar to those on earth. In spacecrafts this is achieved by means
of life-support systems that supply the person with oxygen, water and
food, and create an inhabitable environment.
When sending man on the first flight, the scientists did not know
how the physiologic processes of taking; and using food (mastication,
deglutition, digestion) would be accomplished in conditions of weight-
lessness. "Wherefore the astronauts were provided with homogenized
(;round to uniform mass) products in tubes. Later their nourishment
became more and more like that on earth.
the crews of the "Salyut" orbital station already had a variaa
:,,enu; the collection of products was repeated only every six days. In-
cluaed in the ration were dishes in tubes and in dehydrated form in pac-
kets, meat and fish conserves, garnishes, different kinds oi' bread, var-
ious dairy products and confections, fruit and vegetable juices, tea
and coffee. Thanks to the efforts of the specialist-tecnnologists, the
astronauts' food could be kept long enough and aid not lose taste and
external appeal. ''%ith t,ansport ships the astronauts receivea fresh
f r , d ts, ve '-etaoles and greens, as well as products according to the as-
* "'umbers in the mar,-.in indicate paF-ination in the forei-n text.
i
1
tronauts' taste and desire, for example, black bread, sauces and garlic.
New methods of changing the food's structure were developed by the
joint efforts of the engineers and techno:.ogists. Now the astronauts
can eat and drink even the first dishes and drinks from open containers.
However, these successes do not solve the problem of the astronauts'
nutrition.
With food a person receives a complex collection of food substances
(nutrients). They are intended to supply the body with material
for the formation of energy, [illegible] of the body and synthesis of
a huge quantity of bio l ogic substances--hori,iones, enzymes and other
active compounds that regulate metabolism and the entire activity of
the body and create the stability of its internal environment.
In the process o1' evolution certain interrelations were established
between the body and the environment. Thanks to the biologic regulating
mechanisms the body obtains that quantity of food substances that satis-
fies its requirement in energy and material for the processes of syn-
thesis. Such interrelations designate the balance between need and nu-
trition, and adequate nutrition.
A person's need for food
substances depends primarily
on nis energy expenditure, for
the most part from muscle ac-
tivity, the intensity of func-
tioning, of organs and systems,
the features of psychic activity
and other processes. The fun-
damental regulating mechanisms
On board the piloted orbital
complex "Salyut-b"-"Soyuz",
astronaut V. Ryumin opens a
packet with food.
TASS photograph.
2	 ORIGINAL PAGE IS
GI' POOR QUALITY
are such physiologic functions as thirst, appetite, digestion and metab-
olism. One of the most powerful evolution-produced regulators is motor
activity, that is, physical work.
The formation of these processes began millions of years ago and
took place in the conditions of earth's gravitation.
In space there is practically no gravitation. Man is not adapted
to a condition of weightlessness.
A typical result of the effect of weightlessness is redistribution
of the blood circulating in the vessels: astronauts clearly sense in-
creased flow of blood to the upper part of the body, and puffiness of
the face and a feeling of heaviness in the head occur. tie increase
in the blood volume in the upper half of the body leads to stimulation=
of the receptors that regulate the fluid volume in the circulatory
system. Impulses from these receptors go to the medulla oblongata and
hypothalamus and inhibit the secretion of antidiuretic hormone. Reduc-
tion of its concentration in the blood leads to a decrease of the return
[illegible--line cut off], as a result of which the body loses fluid.
As a result of these changes all astronauts lose body weight (after re-
turn to Earth it is quickly restored).
Along with fluid, sodium, chlorine, potassium, phosphorus, calcium
and other electrolytes are removed from the body. Because of the reduc-
tion of activity, muscle mass is also decreased, and the body loses p'lo-
tein nitrogen. In the adaptation process, metabolism in the astronauts
is altered: there is a restructuring of lipid, carbohydrate and protein
metabolism, and the digestive processes occur differently. But all these
changes do not have a pathologic characters to the contrary, they are
directed at adaptation to weightlessness.
The adaptation process has a phase character. The initial acute
period of adaptation is replaced by a phase of adjustment, although the
body does not completely return to the earth level of functioning. Dur-
ing the entire flight, regardless of its duration, it works as if in a
3
new physiologic regimen. This causes a change in the need for
nutrients.
i
Life in weightlessness, just as on Earth, requires an energy supply
in accordance with its expenditure. The total energy expenditures of
the astronauts compose slightly more than 3000 kilocalories. And their
food ration corresponds in calories with these expenditures. The
quantitative ratio of the basic nutrients in the ration is similar to
the normal--earth--ratio.
The qualitative aspect of nutrition is different. In the course of
a flight, metabolic processes occur intensively in the astronauts, in
particular in the nerve ceilsi this is related to the great nervous,
emotional stress. This involves an increased consumption of a number
of biologically active substances--hormones, mediators and enzymes.
Necessary for their synthesis are such nutrient components as amino
acids, vitamins and minerals. Therefore during the flight, and espec-
ially in its final stage prior to the "meeting" with earth's gravitation,
the astronauts receive a complex of vitamins (more than ten of them,
and the doses exceed the normal by two to three times), amino acids and
minerals. They increase the body's resistance to adverse effects and
promote the retainment of water and, consequently, electrolytes in the
astronauts' body. All this is necessary for the best enduran,.e of the
last stages of the flight and the readaptation process after return to
Earth. To normalize mineral metabolism, complexes containing unsaturated
fatty acids are included as a supplement in the ration. Such supple-
ments are prepared on the basis of sea buckthorn juice and oil.
The absence of a gravitational load on the structural-motor apparatus
results in release of calcium from the body, including from the bones,
and it is very important that vitamin D 3 , which regulates calcium ex-
change, be actively synthesized in it. For this purpose the astronauts
receive mineral supplements, and a certain ratio of calcium and phos-
phorus in them is necessarily acco ,, ,ited for.
Under the influence of weightlessness, the blood also undergoes a
4
n .
change. Not only is the volume of its liquid portion reduced, but the
mass of erythrocytes is decreased disproportionately as well. The phys-
iologic role of erythrocytes is extremely importanti hemoglobin, one
of their components, transports oxygen to the cells and thus promotes
their respiration. There are data that in long flights the reserves of
iron, which is necessary for hemoglobin synthesis, in the blood are re-
duced. Therefore saturation of the astronauts' body with assimilable
iron even in the preflight period and during the course of the flight
is an important factor of nutrition.
Thus, the principles of nutrition in space expeditions are formed
on the basis of physiologic and biochemical investigations, with con-
sideration of the peculiarities of the functioning of all systems and
organs in conditions of weightlessness. Balanced, rational nutrition
meets the needs of the body and maintains the work capability and health
of the astronauts.
5


Nutrition During Long Flight

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