What Will Future Astronauts Eat? | Phnam Bagley | TED

翻译人员: Yip Yan Yeung 校对人员: Lipeng Chen

When we think of space, we may think of the night sky,

当我们想到太空时， 我们大概会想起夜空、

space suits, science fiction, space stations.

航天服、科幻小说、

还有空间站。

With NASA's Artemis mission, we're going back to the Moon,

通过美国航空航天局（NASA）的 阿尔忒弥斯计划

我们将在上次登月 50 年后 首次重返月球，

for the first time in 50 years,

and this time, with the first woman on the Moon.

这次，会有第一名女性登上月球。

Woo-hoo.

好耶。

(Cheers and applause)

（欢呼声、掌声）

You may also have heard that we're planning to send humans

你有可能也听说了 我们计划将人类

to the surface of Mars,

送上火星表面，

and the logistics and rocketry for this long and arduous mission

这趟漫漫长征的运输 和火箭技术问题

are going to be figured out eventually,

最终会被解决，

but shockingly, one of the big problems we don't have a solution for

但令人意外的是， 我们束手无策的一个大问题是

is something that most people don't think about,

大多数人不会想到的一个问题，

and that is food.

那就是食物。

What are we going to feed the astronauts going to Mars?

前往火星的宇航员们吃什么呢？

It turns out it's incredibly complicated.

事实证明这非常复杂。

Before we go there,

在我们开始讨论这个问题之前，

我想说明一下我为什么 要在这里与大家讨论这个问题。

I'd like to go over why I am here, talking to you about this.

I am an industrial designer and an aerospace architect.

我是一名工业设计师， 也是一名航天架构师。

I run a design firm called Nonfiction,

我有一家设计公司，叫做 Nonfiction （意为“非虚构”），

and what we do is that we take science fiction and we make it real.

我们的工作是让科幻小说成真。

It's a real job.

这可是个真实的工作。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Just to give you an idea of the type of work that we do,

为了让大家了解一下 我们的工作内容，

here are a few examples.

我来举几个例子。

We take technology and we make it a natural extension of the human body.

我们利用科技，将其变为 人类身体的自然延伸。

We work with prominent neuroscientists

我们与优秀的神经科学家合作，

and design wearables that help people fall asleep

设计可穿戴设备，让人可以入睡，

and stay asleep all night.

而且能整夜安眠。

We design batteries, low-cost, for rural Africa.

我们设计电池， 低价提供给非洲乡村地区。

We build schools that support neurodiversity and lifelong learning.

我们建造学校， 支持神经多样性和终生学习。

We turn humans into superhumans.

我们要让人类进化成超级人类。

So as you can see,

你可以看出，

I love working on projects that make the world a better place

我很喜欢参与这些通过设计 让世界更美好的项目。

through design.

But most importantly, I love food.

但最重要的一点是，我爱食物。

I've been told that food is my love language.

有人说食物就是我的 “爱的语言”。

When I like someone, I feed them.

如果我喜欢某人， 我就给他们吃东西。

When I don't like someone ...

如果我不喜欢某人……

well, there's always pizza.

嗯，吃披萨去吧。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So when I found out about this space food competition

当我听说了这个由 NASA、

put together by NASA,

加拿大航天局和玛士撒拉基金会 主办的太空食品挑战赛时，

the Canadian Space Agency and the Methuselah Foundation,

I knew I had to be part of it.

我知道我肯定得参加。

It's called the Deep Space Food Challenge.

大赛名为“深空食品挑战赛”。

The premise of the challenge

大赛的目标是解决

is to figure out what and how we're going to feed astronauts

宇航员在执行外太空任务， 如前往火星的途中，

on their way to a deep-space mission, like going to Mars.

给他们吃些什么， 如何为他们提供食物的问题。

So sending living and breathing humans to Mars or a deep-space mission

把大活人送上火星 或者送去执行外太空任务

is very tricky, as you can imagine.

如你所见非常棘手。

Going to Mars is going to be extremely dangerous.

前往火星极其危险。

The round trip is going to last two and a half to three years.

往返一次要花 2.5 到 3 年。

The whole time, we're going to be bombarded

在整个过程中，我们会遭受

with life-threatening levels of space radiation

严重到威胁生命的太空辐射，

and we're going to float in microgravity

我们会在微重力下飘来飘去

or stand on the surface of Mars, experiencing one-third of Earth's gravity.

或站在火星表面， 受到的重力只有地球的三分之一。

So it's really uncomfortable to be up there.

待在那儿会很不舒服。

And so all of these conditions, on top of isolation and stress,

这些情况再加上与世隔绝和压力，

are going to make it very hard for astronauts

会让宇航员非常难以

to keep their weight and their health at optimal levels.

将体重和健康状况 维持在最佳水平。

And one of the main culprits of them losing their weight

导致宇航员们体重降低的 罪魁祸首之一

is actually unappetizing food.

其实是倒胃口的食物。

So imagine having to eat things like these

想象一下整整三年里

for three years straight, right? And looking at the same five people.

只能吃这种东西，对吧？ 还只能看着同样的五个人。

That's going to be really hard.

太难了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So what I'd like to go over is what astronauts eat

我想给大家介绍一下宇航员

aboard the International Space Station, for example, right now.

到了国际空间站以后吃什么， 就以此刻为例。

So essentially, they have access to ready-to-eat food,

他们能吃一些即食食品，

or food, or freeze-dried food that you see here,

或者如图所示的冻干食品，

that's rehydrated with water.

再加水复原。

And so it's either goop in a bag,

所以要么是包装袋里的糊糊，

or if you're feeling fancy,

要么如果你想吃得高端点，

you can place that goop in a space tortilla.

就可以把糊糊 放在太空墨西哥卷饼上。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So tortilla is actually very popular in space,

墨西哥卷饼在太空 可是很受欢迎的，

because it satisfies like bread,

因为它可以带来吃面包的快感，

but doesn't crumble and clog the air-filtration system.

但又不会产生碎屑， 或者堵上空气过滤系统。

Now, the quality of that tortilla

虽然卷饼的品质

would make your Mexican grandmother roll over in her grave,

会让你那墨西哥老祖母的 棺材板都压不住了，

but it's better than nothing.

但是聊胜于无。

By the way, the water that rehydrated the freeze-dried food

顺带一提，复原冻干食品的水

is recycled again and again.

是反复利用的。

We don't have the luxury to send all the water that we need.

我们没有奢望来 运送我们需要的所有水。

There's no romantic way of saying it --

没什么文雅的说法——

it's filtered gray water and pee.

这些水就是过滤后的灰水和尿液。

Ew ...

呃……

Every once in a while,

有些时候，

astronauts aboard the ISS have access to fresh produce

驻国际空间站的宇航员 能吃上补给火箭捎来的新鲜食品。

and that comes from resupply rockets.

This happens because the Earth is only 250 miles from the ... space station.

会出现这样的情况是因为 地球距离空间站只有 250 英里。

And that's not going to be an option for people going to Mars,

对于前往火星的人们就不可能了，

because that's 300 million miles away, one way.

因为单程就长达 3 亿英里。

They're not going to send, like, a small rocket with apples and oranges,

不可能发射一个小火箭， 专程为你送来苹果和橙子。

just for you.

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So going to Mars is going to be very hard.

前往火星会非常困难。

It's like hardcore backpacking in the wild,

就像硬核的野外背包旅行，

except the wild is a cramped space

只是这个野外指的是一个狭小空间，

surrounded by things that can kill you at any moment.

被随时可能杀死你的东西环绕。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So packing food for Mars

为火星之旅准备的

is going to require one ton per person per year.

食物量是每人每年一吨。

So if we have a crew of five, six astronauts,

如果我们有五六人的乘组，

that’s a lot of weight.

这重量可不小。

And if there’s one thing you need to learn about space

如果关于太空 你必须知道那么一件事，

is that weight is money.

那会是“重量就是金钱”。

So what my design team came up with

我的设计团队的作品是

is this amazing system called the Space Culinary Lab.

这个名为“太空烹饪实验室”的 神奇系统。

By the way, we won the first phase of this competition,

顺带提一嘴， 我们在大赛第一阶段获胜，

and are currently working on prototypes.

现正开发原型。

(Cheers and applause)

（欢呼声、掌声）

So let's go over the four sections of this machine.

我们来看看这台机器的四个部分。

Step one -- coffee.

第一步——咖啡。

In the morning, it's nice to have a rich, creamy, hot beverage.

早上最好能来一杯 浓郁细腻的热饮。

A nutritious version of this is butter coffee.

一种营养丰富的款式 就是黄油咖啡。

What would it take for astronauts to make space butter coffee?

如果宇航员想做一杯太空黄油咖啡 要干些啥呢？

So one of our team members created this mechanical homogenizer

我的一个队友设计了 这款机械搅拌机，

that breaks down coffee granules, hot water, collagen and ghee together

把咖啡颗粒、热水、 胶原蛋白和酥油打在一起，

and creates this unctuous, satisfying mouthfeel solution

做成这种油质溶液， 口感上佳，

that is really nice to drink.

适宜饮用。

What's nice as well is that it provides you

另一个好处是它也为你提供了

with omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3 脂肪酸，

that can protect your brain and your heart,

保护你的大脑和心脏，

as well as reduce inflammation.

同时减少炎症。

Step two -- snacks.

第二步——零食。

Microalgae, like spirulina:

微藻类，如螺旋藻：

research in animals has shown that it can also boost your immune system,

基于动物的研究表明 它们可以增强你的免疫系统，

and help your body from developing cancer.

让你的身体避免患上癌症。

But the problem is algae is gross.

但问题是藻类好恶心。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It smells funny and it doesn't taste that great.

闻起来诡异，也不怎么好吃。

So what we can do is to cultivate a fresh batch aboard the spaceship,

所以我们的做法是在宇宙飞船上 培育一批新鲜的藻类，

dehydrate the microalgae, and then mix it with other ingredients.

把微藻脱水， 再混入一些别的成分。

We can mix it with oats, with nuts, with powdered berries, with spices.

我们可以加入燕麦、坚果、 粉质莓果、香料。

We can make them sweet, sour, savory, spicy,

我们可以把它做成甜的、 酸的、咸的、辣的，

whatever your heart desires.

随心所欲。

Oh, and as a bonus,

哦，再附赠一个好处，

growing microalgae absorbs carbon dioxide from the air

养微藻能从空气中吸收二氧化碳，

and produces oxygen.

产生氧气。

In other terms, it's carbon-negative.

换句话说，它是“负碳”的。

So now imagine all of the food systems that we have on the surface of the Earth.

想象一下地球表面 所有的食物系统。

What if producing food actually reversed climate change?

食品生产有没有可能 可以扭转气候变化？

Wouldn't that be cool?

要真这样不是很酷吗？

Step three -- salad.

第三步——沙拉。

When astronauts go on long missions to space,

宇航员在太空中长时间执行任务，

one of the things they look forward to the most when they come back to Earth

等回到地球 最期待的东西之一就是

is the crunch of a salad.

沙拉的爽脆口感。

So salads were designed to grow with gravity,

沙拉菜得有重力才能生长，

so now we're asking it to grow without gravity.

所以我们要让它没有重力也能长。

Well, thankfully, the International Space Station experiments

好在国际空间站的实验

have proven that we can do that with lettuce,

证明生菜、羽衣甘蓝和其他蔬菜

with kale and with other greens.

是可以做到这一点的。

Let’s give our Mars explorers a space garden.

我们来给火星探险家 一个太空花园吧。

It's great to give them some fresh produce to eat

让他们偶尔能吃上新鲜蔬果很不错，

once in a while

and it's nice for their mental health to look at a garden once in a while.

偶尔欣赏一下花园 对他们的心理健康也是好事。

Last but not least, step four --

最后第四步——

space barbecue.

太空烤肉。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So a lot of cultures all over the world

在全球的很多文化中，

consider grilled protein a meal centerpiece.

都认为烤制的蛋白质 是一顿饭的主菜。

Unfortunately, open fire is frowned upon in space.

不巧的是， 明火在太空行不通。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So we're going to use lasers.

那我们就用激光。

So we're going to take a piece of chicken, for example,

举个例子，拿一块鸡肉，

and we're going to rehydrate it with a carbohydrate solution.

用碳水化合溶液把它复原。

And then from there, we're going to design

然后我们来设计一个

a grill pattern on top of the chicken, using lasers.

用激光画在鸡肉上的烤印。

And so the heat, carbohydrate and protein combination

于是热量、碳水化合物 和蛋白质在一起作用

creates the signature caramelization

产生了烤肉特有的焦糖化效果，

that makes barbecued meat taste and smell so delicious.

和烤肉的香味和口味如出一辙。

With the Space Culinary Lab,

在太空烹饪实验室中，

we can imagine all the combinations of flavors, textures, colors

我们可以想象出各种 口味、口感、颜色的组合，

and rituals, even, that can come out of this.

甚至可以创造出一些新仪式。

What if a Michelin star chef had access to this kind of system

要是一位米其林星级厨师 可以利用这种系统

and created their own spaceborne dishes?

创造出他们自己的太空美食，如何？

Like, think astrobisque, floating space-juice caviar,

比如太空浓汤、 漂浮太空爆汁鱼子酱、

or space whiskey.

太空威士忌。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

What is traditionally called a galley or prep station

如果传统意义上的 机上厨房或操作台

is now something that looks and feels a lot more like a farm-to-table kitchen,

现在转型成了看起来、 体验起来更像太空版本的

“从农场到餐桌”式厨房， 怎么样？

but in space.

What we want to do, really,

我们真正想做的是

is to take all of that space innovation

把所有这种太空创新

and bring it back to other places in space.

带去宇宙中的其他地方。

We're going to go to the Moon, we're going to go to Mars,

我们要去月球，我们要去火星，

我们的终极目标是 让太空更人性化。

and what we really want to do at the end is make space more human.

We want to apply this to all life-support systems up there.

我们想将这个理念 应用于那里所有的生命支持系统。

And bringing all of that technology back to Earth is nothing new,

再提一句，把这些技术带回地球 不是什么新鲜事。

by the way.

Like, we've been using a lot of technologies, every day,

我们日常使用的很多科技

that were invented in space.

都是在太空中被发明的。

For example, solar cells, prosthetics, water filtration systems, GPS,

比如太阳能电池、假肢、 水过滤系统、全球定位系统（GPS）、

wireless communication devices, even the lens on your camera phone.

无线通信设备， 甚至是你手机相机上的镜头。

So, you know, when we think about taking all of that technology

我们在想到把这些

that we're developing in space,

在太空中开发的技术带回来时，

what we want to do, really,

我们真正想做的是

is create regenerative ways to replace nonregenerative agricultural methods

创造出可再生的方式， 替代不可再生的农业模式，

that demand too much resources on Earth.

这些模式消耗了地球上太多的资源。

Every day, there's a lot of space innovation that's happening,

每天都会出现很多的太空创新，

space that's here to benefit us on Earth.

这些领域会让地球上的我们受益。

So one day, not so far in the future,

有朝一日，在不远的未来，

maybe the way we create food in space will help us open the door

也许我们在太空中 生产食物的方式可以打开

to become a sustainable interplanetary species.

我们成为更可持续的 跨行星物种的大门。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Cheers and applause)

（欢呼声、掌声）