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This study aimed to help explain why meals taste different in space.
A recent study found that confinement and isolation may impact how people perceive food aromas.
Researchers from RMIT University compared the perception and emotional responses of 44 people in two different environmental scenarios, microgravity (or zero gravity) and isolated confinement.
The study, published in the Food Research International, aimed to help explain why astronauts say food tastes different in space and consequently struggle to eat regular meals over long missions.
Participants sat in reclined chairs to simulate microgravity in space and then underwent a simulation of the International Space Station (ISS), a confined and isolated area, using virtual reality (VR) goggles.
Eight aromas were tested: vanilla, almond, lemon, lemon myrtle, eucalyptus, peppermint, vinegar, and lemongrass.
Lemongrass was the only aroma that was perceived more intensely in the confined environment than in microgravity.
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