‘You can easily create a mess’: As astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla says he ‘ate water in space,’ expert lists digestive challenges in microgravity

Living in space made Shukla learn survival hacks like “eating water.” “You can even eat water in space. It is fun, but you have to be really careful as things go all around,” he quipped in the video.

Shukla discovered that a simple process called ‘peristalsis’ is responsible for digestion in zero gravity. “We don’t need gravity to digest food. A process called ‘peristalsis’ is responsible for digestion, which is gravity-independent. It is the contraction and relaxation of muscles to push food down through the digestive tract.”

Reiterating Shukla’s observation, Dr Anjana Kalia, Ayurvedic Doctor & Nutritionist, agreed that astronauts can face certain unique digestive challenges in microgravity.

So, how does digestion in space vary from digestion in gravity?

Dr Kalia explained that on Earth, gravity helps separate gas from liquid in the stomach, allowing burping to release excess air. While in space, gas bubbles can mix with food and liquid, making simple burps more difficult and sometimes uncomfortable—astronauts call this a “wet burp.”

“This can lead to bloating, indigestion, or mild nausea.” She elaborated that in space, where gravity is absent, peristalsis becomes even more crucial. It ensures that food and liquid move safely from the mouth to the stomach and through the intestines, allowing astronauts to eat and digest normally despite weightlessness.

Shubhanshu Shukla with fellow astronauts associated with Axiom Station. (Photo: Instagram/gagan.shux)

Beyond peristalsis, what other physiological processes in the human body are essential for digesting nutrients in space?

Dr Kalia shared that several processes work alongside peristalsis to ensure proper digestion. For instance, digestive enzymes secreted by the stomach, pancreas, and small intestine break down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates into smaller molecules.

“Even the bile from the liver helps emulsify fats, making them easier to absorb. However, not many know that the small intestine is critical in absorbing nutrients into the bloodstream through specialised structures called villi and microvilli. These processes depend on chemical activity and cellular transport mechanisms, not gravity,” she said.

This means that nutrient breakdown and absorption can continue efficiently in space, provided astronauts maintain a balanced diet, Dr Kalia concluded.

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