The study, published in the International Journal of Food Science and Technology, also has significant implications for improving the diets of isolated individuals, such as nursing home residents, by customizing aromas to enhance food flavor.
Previous research highlights the crucial role aroma plays in food flavor. This study tested how vanilla and almond extracts and lemon essential oil were perceived differently from normal Earth environments to the confined setting of the International Space Station (ISS), simulated for participants using virtual reality goggles.
Lead researcher Dr. Julia Low from the School of Science noted that vanilla and almond aromas intensified in the ISS-simulated environment, while the lemon scent remained unchanged.
The team discovered that a sweet chemical in vanilla and almond aromas, benzaldehyde, could explain these perception changes, in addition to individual sensitivity to specific smells.
"A greater sense of loneliness and isolation may also play a role, and there are implications from this study around how isolated people smell and taste food," said Low.
This research is the first to include a large sample size of 54 adults, capturing variations in personal experiences of aromas and tastes in isolated settings.
"One of the long-term aims of the research is to make better tailored foods for astronauts, as well as other people who are in isolated environments, to increase their nutritional intake closer to 100%," Low said.
She added that their findings on spatial perception's role in smell complement other studies on astronauts' eating experiences in space, including fluid shift phenomena.
Weightlessness causes fluids to move from the lower to upper body parts, leading to facial swelling and nasal congestion, which affect smell and taste. These symptoms typically diminish after a few weeks on the space station.
"Astronauts are still not enjoying their food even after fluid shift effects have gone, suggesting that there's something more to this," Low said.
Associate Professor Gail Iles, a former astronaut instructor and co-researcher from RMIT, emphasized the importance of this study for long-term missions.
"What we're going to see in the future with the Artemis missions are much longer missions, years in length, particularly when we go to Mars, so we really need to understand the problems with diet and food and how crew interact with their food," said Iles.
"The incredible thing with this VR study is that it really does go a very long way to simulating the experience of being on the space station. And it really does change how you smell things and how you taste things."
Associate Professor Jayani Chandrapala, a food chemistry expert from RMIT, highlighted the role of benzaldehyde in altering aroma perceptions in the space simulation.
"In our study, we believe that it's this sweet aroma that gives that highly intensive aroma within the VR setting," said Chandrapala.
Low added that the study's findings could benefit people living in socially isolated environments on Earth.
"The results of this study could help personalize people's diets in socially isolated situations, including in nursing homes, and improve their nutritional intake," Low said.
Research Report:Smell perception in virtual spacecraft? A ground-based approach to sensory and chemical data collection
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