For decades, insects have demonstrated their resilience and adaptability in the challenging environment of space, sparking interest among European researchers as a potentially reliable food source for long-duration missions. These small creatures offer a compelling combination of lightness, adaptability, and nutritional richness, making them an attractive option for sustained space exploration.
The Global Significance of Insect Consumption
Eating insects is far from unusual; it’s a common practice for billions of people worldwide. According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, humans regularly consume more than 2,000 insect species across the globe. This widespread consumption highlights the potential for insects to contribute to human nutrition both on Earth and beyond.
Exploring Insects in Space
The European Space Agency (ESA) has assembled a multidisciplinary team of food scientists, biologists, and space experts to investigate the feasibility of incorporating insects into astronaut menus. Early experiments dating back to the 1940s have explored how insects fare in space. While the results vary depending on the species, microgravity doesn’t seem to significantly disrupt their development or behavior.
“Insects appear to cope remarkably well in space environments, exhibiting a strong ability to withstand physical stresses,” notes Åsa Berggren, Professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and lead author of a study published in Frontiers in Physiology. “Moreover, these small animals efficiently convert materials humans can’t digest into their own growth, providing us with nutritious food.”
The research indicates a clear potential for insects to recycle nutrients and generate protein in a sustainable manner. Before insects can become a regular part of a space traveler’s diet, however, researchers need to fully understand how microgravity affects crucial biological processes like life cycles, physiology, and reproduction.
A History of Bugs in Orbit
The fruit fly holds the distinction of being the first animal to reach space and survive the journey, hitching a ride on a V-2 rocket in 1947. This mission aimed to study the effects of radiation on living organisms, establishing the fruit fly as a foundational model for space-based research into physiology, behavior, and development.
Since then, other insects have followed suit:
- Bumblebees: Studied for their behavior in altered gravity.
- Houseflies: Furthering understanding of insect development in space.
- Caterpillars: Observed for their developmental processes.
- Ants: Known for their remarkable ability to cling to surfaces.
- Stick insects: Encountered challenges with movement, radiation, and reproduction.
In a particularly impressive feat of endurance, water bears—tiny invertebrates famed for their ability to survive extreme conditions—endured exposure to outer space during ESA’s “tardigrades in space” experiment in 2007.
From Lab to Plate: Earthly and Space Applications
On Earth, insects are increasingly valued for both their taste and nutritional benefits, gaining recognition as part of more sustainable food systems. Common culinary preparations transform crickets into snacks that taste like nuts with a smoky aftertaste, while mealworms resemble bacon. Ants offer a distinctive lemon tang.
Insects are an excellent source of high-protein, fatty acids, iron, zinc, and B vitamins. These nutritional values often rival or surpass those of meat, fish, and legumes.
For space research, house crickets and yellow mealworms have been the most frequently used invertebrates. Notably, both species were authorized by the European Food Safety Authority for human consumption in 2023. Cricket flour, a popular protein source, is commonly used to create bread, pasta, and crackers. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti even included a blueberry cereal bar containing cricket flour on her 2022 space mission.
Future Research: Addressing Knowledge Gaps
Despite the promising potential, significant knowledge gaps remain regarding the impact of space on insects. Much of the existing data is decades old, stemming from experiments conducted primarily between 1960 and 2000 across various missions. Furthermore, the duration of these studies often proves limiting. Many parabolic flight experiments lasted only a few minutes, and even longer stays in space rarely exceeded 50 days—shorter than an insect’s full life cycle.
Researchers now aim to test species capable of completing all life stages during an orbital stay. To achieve this goal, ESA and its partners are currently designing new experiments focused on the effects of microgravity on insect biology.
Understanding how organisms like insects survive in space can open new doors in bioscience and provide vital insights for long-term human exploration beyond Earth.
