Galactic cosmic ray simulation's effects on food nutrition

Future deep-space exploration missions may have their food prepared in advance of the arrival of the astronauts, exposing it to Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and solar radiation at higher levels and with different spectra than those encountered in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). In this work, we assessed the effects of two retort thermostabilized food products that are good providers of radiation-labile nutrients on a GCR simulation at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) at doses of about 0.5 Gy and 5 Gy (thiamin, vitamin E, or unsaturated fats). The radiation-treated samples and the control samples showed no trends or nutritional changes either immediately following treatment or a year later. Several nutrients saw minor modifications after a year of storage, which were measured. Given that the items in this study were heterogeneous, additional research may be required to corroborate the findings since pouch-to-pouch fluctuations may have obscured significant differences.