\tScience & Exploration<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t07\/11\/2025
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Long before humans reached orbit, insects had already shown they could handle the hurdles of spaceflight. Light, highly adaptable and nutritionally rich, these resilient animals present an attractive option for European researchers studying reliable food sources for long-duration missions.<\/p>\n
Eating insects is not unusual: billions of people do it every day. According to the UN\u2019s Food and Agriculture Organization<\/a>, humans consume over 2000 species of insects around the planet.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tFruit fly habitat for space mission <\/a><\/p>\n The European Space Agency has now brought together a team of food, biology and space experts from across Europe to study whether insects could become part of an astronaut\u2019s menu.<\/p>\n How well the creepy-crawlies do in space has been the subject of several experiments dating back to the 1940s.<\/p>\n While the results vary depending on the species, microgravity does not seem to disrupt their development or behaviour in major ways.<\/p>\n \u201cInsects seem to cope quite well in space environments. They have a good ability to withstand physical stresses,\u201d says \u00c5sa Berggren, Professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences<\/a> and lead author of a study<\/a> published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology.<\/p>\n \u201cThese small animals are also very good at converting materials that we humans cannot eat into their own growth and provide us with nutritious food,\u201d adds \u00c5sa.<\/p>\n The team found in these tiny creatures a clear potential to recycle nutrients and produce protein in a sustainable way. But before insects could make it onto the space menu, European researchers first wanted to understand how microgravity affects key biological processes, such as life cycles, physiology and reproduction.<\/p>\n Bug orbital hotel<\/p>\n The first animal to reach space and survive the trip was the fruit fly in 1947. This humble insect travelled on a V-2 rocket to study the impact of radiation on living organisms.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tFruit flies for space research<\/a><\/p>\n Since then, fruit flies have become a standard model for physiology, behaviour and development research in space. They managed to complete their entire life cycle in microgravity, from fertilisation to adult insects capable of producing offspring.<\/p>\n Many more have followed: bumblebees, houseflies, caterpillars and ants. Ants showed a remarkable ability to cling to the surface, while species such as stick insects struggled with movement, radiation and reproduction.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tTardigrade<\/a><\/p>\n In a striking endurance test, water bears \u2013 tiny invertebrate animals known for surviving extreme conditions \u2013 endured exposure to outer space during ESA\u2019s \u2018Tardigrades in space\u2019<\/a> experiment in 2007.<\/p>\n Understanding the mechanisms by which organisms survive in space can open new doors in bioscience.<\/p>\n \tYummy space bites with legs<\/p>\n On Earth, insects are valued both for taste and nutrition, gaining visibility in Europe as part of more sustainable food systems. The most popular ways of cooking and spicing them make crickets taste like nuts with a smoky aftertaste, while mealworms resemble bacon and ants have a lemon tang.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tRoasted edible insects at street market<\/a><\/p>\n Worms and other bugs are an excellent source of high protein, fatty acids, iron, zinc and B vitamins, with values often comparable to or higher than those of meat, fish and legumes.<\/p>\n For space research, the house cricket and the yellow mealworm have been among the most used invertebrates.\u00a0Both species were authorised by the European Food Safety Authority for sale and human consumption in 2023.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti onboard the ISS with her lunch<\/a><\/p>\n Cricket flour is a source of protein commonly used to make bread, pasta and crackers.<\/p>\n ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti even packed a blueberry cereal bar with cricket flour<\/a> for her space mission in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n \tNot on the menu \u2013 yet<\/p>\n The big picture of space’s impact on insects is still incomplete. Much of the available data is old \u2013 many experiments were done between 1960 and 2000 \u2013 and scattered across different missions.<\/p>\n