The Italian extra virgin olive oil in orbit in the Space Station

Some samples of Italian extra virgin olive oil have reached the International Space Station, thanks to a project included in the framework of the agreement between theItalian Space Agency and CREAIn partnership with Coldiretti and Unaprol-Italian Olive Consortium.
The project aims to study, through an original and unpublished experiment, the effects of permanence in space on the chemical-physical, sensorial and nutritional characteristics of extra virgin olive oil. The extra virgin olive oil samples will be brought back to Earth after respectively 6, 12 and 18 months to be analyzed and compared with those of controls left on the ground.
In particular, the experiment will investigate how the composition of secondary metabolites – phenols and tocopherols (vitamin E) – is influenced by microgravity and radiation present in space and will serve to collect new information on the stability of EVOO and on the shelf life in space environmental conditions. The project will also study how the type of containers currently used on board the ISS affects the product. The scientific implications of the project will be monitored by CREA Center for Olive Growing, Fruit Growing and Citrus Growing, headquarters in Rende, in Calabria, which is investing heavily to provide solutions that make Italian extra virgin olive oil increasingly competitive and appreciated.
The EVO oil samples join the four selected extra virgin oils that are part of the "bonus food" chosen, as part of the Minerva mission, by ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. These oils have in common a high content of natural antioxidants and, in particular, of olive phenols which are indispensable for those who, like astronauts, are subjected to conditions of intense psycho-physical stress.