Bone resorption is significantly elevated during spaceflight, but returns to normal post-flight. It usually takes three to four times the mission length to recover bone. Fosamax is being investigated as a possible agent to reduce bone loss. There are decreases in lean body mass during space flight, but the muscle loss does not appear to be related to amino acid intake. The shift is to the intracellular fluid.
Nutrition is viewed as a countermeasure to the deleterious effects of space on the body.
Food in space must provide energy and nutrition requirements. However convenient providing nutrients in pill form may be, the psychosocial aspects of mealtime are intangible, yet critical for morale. Smith showed breathtaking slides of the earth from space, and astronauts and cosmonauts encapsulated in their spacecraft.