SOS! Mars needs Miso!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Astronauts typically eat freeze-dried meals. They’re stable, nutritious, and…. BLAND! PLUS, space dulls taste buds. How can astronauts get their savory, umami flavors back?
MIT’s Maggie Coblentz and team were on the case! They asked if miso, a fermented soybean paste, could be the flavor fix. But can fermentation even happen in space?
To find out, researchers sent miso to the International Space Station for thirty days. They then tested microbial composition, flavor, and safety, and compared it with Earth-made miso.
Results? Success! Miso can safely ferment in space! Taste tests show space-miso is just as good- maybe even nuttier! Cosmic!
Houston, we have RAMEN!… Hey, I guess I’m on the astronaut diet!
Reference: Coblentz, M., Evans, J. D., Kothe, C. I., Mak, T., Rodríguez Valerón, N., Chwalek, P., Wejendorp, K., Garg, S., Pless, L., Mak, S., Sörensen, P. M., Jahn, L. J., & Ekblaw, A. (2025). Food fermentation in space: Opportunities and challenges. iScience, 28(4), 112189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.112189