( Massima )— Astronauts carry out numerous experiments on the International Space Station (ISS), and surprisingly, producing miso appears to be one of them.
U.S. and Danish astronauts carried out the iScience experiment In 2020, scientists stated the The taste had a stronger nuttiness and deeper roasting notes. Then miso produced on Earth.
However, the experiment aimed beyond mere miso soup. Researchers were interested in determining whether food fermentation could occur in space and how the environmental conditions would affect the microorganisms involved.
The process of how the miso soup experiment in space was carried out.
The researchers involved in the study received a kit containing the miso paste components — cooked soybeans, rice koji, and salt — which they sent to the International Space Station. These ingredients were then permitted to ferment for 30 days aboard the station.
Scientists initiated miso fermentation processes at sites in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Copenhagen, Denmark, while keeping an eye on the environmental parameters across all locations. Once the month concluded, the miso from space was returned and contrasted with the samples cultivated on Earth.
In a press release Joshua D. Evans, one of the lead authors from the Technical University of Denmark, stated, "The space environment in low Earth orbit has certain characteristics such as microgravity and heightened radiation levels which might influence microbial growth and metabolism, thereby affecting fermentation processes. Our aim was to investigate the impact of these factors."
Even though they analyzed the microbial makeup of each miso soup, the team concluded that "on the whole, the space miso remains a miso," yet their discoveries "indicate a distinct fermentation setting in space."
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