"Microbes on the Menu: Unexpected Benefits for Astronauts' Brains During Space Travel"

Feeding astronauts on long missions to Mars requires a rethinking of their diet to support mental and cognitive health, considering the impact of microbes on mental wellbeing. The quality of diet is crucial for mental health, affecting immune function, brain size and function, neurotransmitter systems, stress response, and the gut-brain axis. Space foods need to be nutritious, lightweight, and compact, while also providing phytonutrients, fermentation products, and microbes. Microbes play a vital role in digestion, metabolism, and mental health, and their optimization is essential for long space flights and possible settlement on other planets. This research could also have applications for creating sustainable food systems on Earth.