It is hard to underestimate the need to keep your spirits up when confined for space exploration. If you’re a regular reader, you know I explore the importance of tasty snack foods.
And I’m not making it up!
In 2013 six people were simulating a mission to Mars, sequestered away for four months in a lab here on Earth.
After 80 days in the habitat, Vermeulen listed his essentials as spices, herbs and hot sauce, Nutella, peanut butter, and margarine. (He also made a point of saying that high fibre foods were essential to offset a general lack of fibre in the processed foods.) Vermeulen wasn’t the only crew member to value the Nutella. As he said, ‘It’s something we craved. We had a limited supply, so we had to ration it.’
Then someone ate the last of the Nutella.
You can read more here: https://spacebotany.uk/blog/the-nutella-incident/
PDF version here: https://mars.tikimojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/nutella-incident.pdf
Read about the HI-SEAS missions here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HI-SEAS
