Vials of green liquid containing samples of microalgae swirl on a moving platform in a San Diego State University (SDSU) lab.
Algae has become the not-so-secret ingredient in a new concoction of guacamole made to blast off into space.
Biologists at SDSU are writing the recipe with the help of a NASA grant. The algae ingredient is meant to bolster the food’s avocado base with antioxidants, which would protect astronauts from the high levels of radiation in space.
“Our proposed project is to have a powdered mix. And it will be hydrated in space and then they would have the guacamole,” said San Diego State biology professor Cristal Zuniga, whose lab is leading the project.
The guacamole will be a vessel for the algae and its nutritional fire power. The project is aimed at diversifying the diet of astronauts, and scientists chose guacamole to try to lift their spirits.
They said "space-guac" is a fun food that makes people think of parties. PhD biology student Gaby Canto is part of the team.
“The idea of mixing guacamole with microalgae was so interesting for me because I’m Mexican. And guacamole is part of our diet, you know,” Canto said with a laugh.
Postdoctoral researcher Daniel Caro is from Columbia. Like Mexico, he said it’s a large avocado producer.
“I was thinking, `What is something fun? Something good to eat that we can freeze dry and something that is green,’” Caro said, noting that microalgae is also green.
Algae is eaten in some human cultures. Spirulina is one example. But algae is not known for being tasty. Scientists at SDSU describe it as being quite bitter. But there are ways to make algae go down a little easier.
A food scientist advising Zuniga’s lab said the flavor of food, such as algae, can be enhanced without additives by chemically manipulating the compounds in them. It’s called molecular sensory science.
“(Zuniga) is going to naturally enhance some amino acids and sugars in the algae. And those are going to give us a good taste later on when we add it to guacamole,” said Ali Raza, a food scientist at SDSU.
But will the astronauts have tortilla chips? The research team would only say maybe.
In February, researchers expect to present their space-guac concoction at NASA’s Human Research Program conference in Texas. There, they will almost certainly have tortilla chips.
