Food Supply Duration Calculator
Calculate food mass, packaging, storage volume, and waste for space mission provisioning.
Inputs
%
%
Results
Daily food (kg)
10.8
Total food mass (kg)2,138
Launch mass (kg)2,673
Storage volume (m³)7.7
Fresh food grown (kg)107
Food waste generated (kg)641
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter the number of crew and mission duration in days.
- Set the daily caloric requirement per person (typically 2,000-3,000 kcal for space missions).
- Input the caloric density of your food system in kcal per kilogram.
- Review total food mass in kg and volume in liters.
- Add 10-15% margin for contingency and variation in individual metabolic rates.
How the result changes with Crew size
| Crew size | Daily food (kg) |
|---|---|
| 11 | 19.8 |
| 36 | 64.8 |
| 65 | 117 |
| 90 | 162 |
What each input means
- Crew size
- Number of crew members.
- Mission duration (days)
- Total mission length.
- Calories per person/day
- Daily caloric requirement per crew member.
- Safety buffer (%)
- Extra food for contingency.
- Fresh food grown (%)
- Percentage grown on-board.
What each result means
- Daily food (kg)
- Total daily food mass for crew.
- Total food mass (kg)
- All food for mission with buffer.
- Launch mass (kg)
- Food plus packaging mass.
- Storage volume (m³)
- Volume needed for food storage.
- Fresh food grown (kg)
- Food produced on-board.
- Food waste generated (kg)
- Packaging and food waste mass.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersCrew size = 6, Mission duration (days) = 180, Calories per person/day = 2500, Safety buffer (%) = 10 = 5 input(s) provided
- Calculate Daily foodDaily food = crewSize * foodMassPerPersonDay10.8 = 10.8
- Calculate Total food massTotal food mass2138 = 2138
- Calculate Launch massLaunch mass2673 = 2673
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