NASA's Space Food Systems Laboratory. STS-110 crew eating on board the ISS. The AFT project is responsible for providing space flight crews with a food system that is safe, nutritious, and acceptable to the crew, while efficiently balancing appropriate vehicle mass, volume, waste, and food preparation time for exploration missions. This will require a packaged food system with a shelf life of 3 to 5 years * current shuttle and ISS food system technologies do not meet these requirements. Food not only provides nutrition for astronauts, but also enhances the psychological well-being of the crew by establishing a familiar element in an unfamiliar and hostile environment
