What Will Future Astronauts Eat? | Phnam Bagley | TED

譯者: 麗玲 辛 審譯者: Helen Chang

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

說到太空，我們可能會想到夜空、

space suits, science fiction, space stations.

太空衣、科幻小說、太空站。

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

透過太空總署的阿提米絲計畫， 我們將重返月球，

for the first time in 50 years,

這是 50 年來的第一次。

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

這次，也是首次有女性登上月球。

Woo-hoo.

喔呼！

（歡呼聲及掌聲）

(Cheers and applause)

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

各位可能也聽說我們打算 把人類送上火星表面。

to the surface of Mars,

and the logistics and rocketry for this long and arduous mission

這項漫長艱鉅任務的後勤物流 和火箭技術問題最終會解決。

are going to be figured out eventually,

但令人意外的是，

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

其中一個我們還束手無策的重大難題 也是大多數人沒想到的問題，

is something that most people don't think about,

and that is food.

那就是食物。

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

前往火星的太空人要吃什麼？

It turns out it's incredibly complicated.

事實證明這非常複雜。

Before we go there,

進入這個主題之前，我想先 談談我為何來此講這個主題。

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

I am an industrial designer and an aerospace architect.

我是工業設計師以及航空建築師。

I run a design firm called Nonfiction,

我經營一家設計公司，叫「非虛構」。

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

我們的工作就是讓科幻小說成真。

It's a real job.

真的有這種工作。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

為了讓各位更清楚我們的工作內容，

here are a few examples.

容我舉幾個例子。

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

我們讓科技成為人體的自然延伸。

We work with prominent neuroscientists

我們和卓越的神經科學家合作，

設計可穿戴設備， 助人入睡，整晚安眠。

and design wearables that help people fall asleep

and stay asleep all night.

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

我們設計低成本的電池， 提供給非洲鄉村。

We build schools that support neurodiversity and lifelong learning.

我們打造學校，提供 神經多樣性及終生學習。

We turn humans into superhumans.

我們把人類變成超人。

So as you can see,

你可看出，

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

我熱愛投入一些計畫， 希望透過設計讓世界變得更好。

through design.

But most importantly, I love food.

但最重要的是，我熱愛美食。

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

別人總說食物是我的「愛的語言」。

When I like someone, I feed them.

如果我喜歡一個人，我就做菜給他吃。

When I don't like someone ...

至於我不喜歡的人嘛，

well, there's always pizza.

嗯，我們可以叫比薩外送。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So when I found out about this space food competition

所以當我發現由美國太空總署、

put together by NASA,

加拿大太空總署及瑪土撒拉基金會 籌劃的太空食物競賽時，

the Canadian Space Agency and the Methuselah Foundation,

I knew I had to be part of it.

我知道我非參加不可。

It's called the Deep Space Food Challenge.

這比賽叫「深空食物挑戰」。

The premise of the challenge

這個比賽的目標是解決 太空人要吃什麼，如何提供的問題，

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

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

以執行太空任務，比如去火星。

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

各位可想像，把活生生的人類

送到火星或執行外太空任務非常棘手。

is very tricky, as you can imagine.

Going to Mars is going to be extremely dangerous.

前往火星將是極其危險的。

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

來回要兩年半到三年的時間。

The whole time, we're going to be bombarded

整個過程，

我們將受到威脅生命的 太空輻射不斷轟炸，

with life-threatening levels of space radiation

and we're going to float in microgravity

漂浮在微重力環境中，

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

或者站在火星表面，感受 只有地球三分之一的重力。

So it's really uncomfortable to be up there.

在外太空是很不舒服的。

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

因為這些情況，再加上孤立和壓力，

are going to make it very hard for astronauts

太空人很難將體重和健康 維持在最佳狀態。

to keep their weight and their health at optimal levels.

And one of the main culprits of them losing their weight

一個造成他們體重下降的主因

is actually unappetizing food.

其實是食物索然無味。

So imagine having to eat things like these

想像一下，整整三年 都必須吃這種東西，

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

還要看著同樣的五個人。 真的會很難熬。

That's going to be really hard.

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

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

那麼，我們先聊聊

此刻在國際太空站上的太空人吃什麼。

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

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

基本上，他們能夠取得即食食物，

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

或者你現在看到的冷凍乾燥食物，

that's rehydrated with water.

重新添加水就可以吃。

And so it's either goop in a bag,

所以，要麼裝在袋子裡黏糊糊的一坨，

or if you're feeling fancy,

如果你想要奢華一點，也可以把 那坨東西放到太空薄烙餅裏。

you can place that goop in a space tortilla.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So tortilla is actually very popular in space,

薄烙餅在太空其實很受歡迎，

because it satisfies like bread,

因為它和麵包一樣有飽足感，

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

但它不會碎掉而阻塞空氣過濾系統。

Now, the quality of that tortilla

雖然那薄烙餅的品質會讓 墨西哥奶奶在墳墓裡輾轉難眠，

would make your Mexican grandmother roll over in her grave,

但聊勝於無。

but it's better than nothing.

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

順道一提，添加在 冷凍乾燥食物中的水

is recycled again and again.

會一再回收使用。

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

我們沒有載運全部 所需用水的奢侈條件。

There's no romantic way of saying it --

我沒有比較委婉的說法——

it's filtered gray water and pee.

這些水是經過過濾的灰水和小便。

Ew ...

呃……

Every once in a while,

偶爾，

astronauts aboard the ISS have access to fresh produce

國際太空站上的太空人 吃得到新鮮的農產品，

and that comes from resupply rockets.

來自補給火箭。

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

能有補給火箭是因為 地球和太空站相距僅 250 英里。

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

前往火星的人就沒有這個可能性，

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

因為單趟的距離就是三億英哩。

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

不可能派出一台小火箭 載著蘋果和橘子專程送給你。

just for you.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So going to Mars is going to be very hard.

到火星的旅程會非常艱難。

It's like hardcore backpacking in the wild,

那就像是極限野外背包旅行，

只差在這野外是個狹小的空間，

except the wild is a cramped space

surrounded by things that can kill you at any moment.

周圍盡是隨時能殺死你的東西。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So packing food for Mars

上火星需要打包的食物

is going to require one ton per person per year.

一個人一年需要一公噸。

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

所以如果成員有五、 六名太空人，那就相當重。

that’s a lot of weight.

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

關於太空，你需要了解一點： 重量就是金錢。

is that weight is money.

So what my design team came up with

所以，我的設計團隊設計出

is this amazing system called the Space Culinary Lab.

這個很不簡單的系統， 叫做太空烹飪實驗室。

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

順道一提，我們贏了第一階段的比賽，

and are currently working on prototypes.

目前正在做原型。

(Cheers and applause)

（歡呼聲及掌聲）

咱們來看看這個機器的四個部分。

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

Step one -- coffee.

第一步——咖啡。

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

早晨能喝一杯香濃滑順的 熱飲就太美好了。

A nutritious version of this is butter coffee.

這種飲料的營養版本就是奶油咖啡。

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

太空人做太空奶油咖啡時會需要什麼？

So one of our team members created this mechanical homogenizer

我們的一名團隊成員創造了 這台機械攪拌器，

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

它會打散、分解咖啡顆粒、 熱水、膠原蛋白及酥油，

and creates this unctuous, satisfying mouthfeel solution

製造出口感細膩、令人滿意的溶液，

that is really nice to drink.

非常好喝。

What's nice as well is that it provides you

它還有個優點，就是能 提供你 omega-3 脂肪酸，

with omega-3 fatty acids

that can protect your brain and your heart,

能保護大腦、心臟，同時減少發炎。

as well as reduce inflammation.

Step two -- snacks.

第二步——點心。

Microalgae, like spirulina:

微藻，如螺旋藻屬，

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

動物研究發現，它也能提升免疫力，

and help your body from developing cancer.

讓身體避免罹患癌症。

But the problem is algae is gross.

但問題是藻類很噁。

（笑聲）

(Laughter)

聞起來很怪，也不好吃。

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

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

我們的做法是在太空船上 培養一批新鮮的微藻，

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

將微藻脫水之後，和其他原料混合。

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

我們可以將它與燕麥、 堅果、漿果粉和香料混合。

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

我們可以把它們做成甜的、酸的、 鹹的、辣的，隨你喜好。

whatever your heart desires.

Oh, and as a bonus,

還有個額外的好處，

growing microalgae absorbs carbon dioxide from the air

生長的微藻會吸收空氣中的 二氧化碳，產生氧氣。

and produces oxygen.

In other terms, it's carbon-negative.

換言之，它是負碳的。

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

想像一下，如果地球 表面上的所有食物系統

What if producing food actually reversed climate change?

在製造食物時還能反轉 氣候變遷，不是很酷嗎？

Wouldn't that be cool?

Step three -- salad.

第三步——沙拉。

When astronauts go on long missions to space,

太空人長時間在太空執行任務

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

返回地球後，他們最期待的 事情之一就是吃爽脆的沙拉。

is the crunch of a salad.

So salads were designed to grow with gravity,

沙拉蔬菜原本生長在有重力的環境，

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

現在我們要它在無重力狀況下也生長。

Well, thankfully, the International Space Station experiments

值得慶幸的是，國際太空站的實驗

have proven that we can do that with lettuce,

已經證明蒿苣、甘藍菜， 和其他綠色蔬菜可以做到。

with kale and with other greens.

Let’s give our Mars explorers a space garden.

就給我們的火星探險家 一個太空花園吧。

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

偶爾能讓他們吃到 新鮮農產品是很棒的事，

once in a while

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

偶爾看看花園也有益心理健康。

Last but not least, step four --

最後，第四步——太空燒烤。

space barbecue.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So a lot of cultures all over the world

世界上很多文化

consider grilled protein a meal centerpiece.

認為烤肉是餐點的主角。

Unfortunately, open fire is frowned upon in space.

不幸在太空中不能有明火。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So we're going to use lasers.

所以我們使用雷射。

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

例如，拿一塊雞肉，

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

浸泡碳水化合物溶液，使之復水。

And then from there, we're going to design

然後用雷射光在雞肉上

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

燒出烤架圖案。

And so the heat, carbohydrate and protein combination

這樣，高溫、碳水化合物 和蛋白質的結合

creates the signature caramelization

產生了獨特的焦糖化作用，

that makes barbecued meat taste and smell so delicious.

使烤肉的味道和氣味特別誘人。

With the Space Culinary Lab,

有了太空烹飪實驗室，

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

我們得以想像所有的組合，

各種口味、質地、色彩， 甚至因此創造出新儀式。

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

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

如果米其林星級廚師使用這個系統

and created their own spaceborne dishes?

來創作他們的太空美食，會怎樣？

Like, think astrobisque, floating space-juice caviar,

比如說，星空法式濃湯、 漂浮太空果汁魚子醬

or space whiskey.

或太空威士忌。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

What is traditionally called a galley or prep station

一般被稱為廚房或備餐區的地方

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

現在看來，更像是個 從農場到直達餐桌的廚房，

but in space.

只是在太空中。

What we want to do, really,

實際上，我們想要

is to take all of that space innovation

將這些太空創新

and bring it back to other places in space.

帶到太空的其他地方。

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

我們會去月球，我們會去火星，

我們的終極目標是讓太空更適合人居。

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.

我們想把這個理念應用到 所有的太空生命維持系統。

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

順便一提，將這些技術帶回地球 並不是什麼新鮮事。

by the way.

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

我們每天使用許多發明的太空技術。

that were invented in space.

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

例如，太陽能電池、義肢、 水過濾系統、全球定位系統、

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

無線通信設備，甚至 手機上的照相鏡頭。

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

所以，當我們考慮採用

在太空中開發的所有技術時，

that we're developing in space,

what we want to do, really,

我們真正想做的是 創造可再生的方法來取代

is create regenerative ways to replace nonregenerative agricultural methods

消耗太多地球資源的非再生農業法。

that demand too much resources on Earth.

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

每一天，許多太空創新出現，

space that's here to benefit us on Earth.

造福在地球上的我們。

So one day, not so far in the future,

有一天，在不久的將來，

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

也許在太空中製造食物的方式 會幫助我們打開大門，

to become a sustainable interplanetary species.

成為一個可永續的星際物種。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Cheers and applause)

（歡呼聲和掌聲）