Russian cosmonauts have tasted 160 meals for a space menu ahead of a March 2016 expedition to the International Space Station (ISS), the press service of the Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Center said in a statement Wednesday.

"Oleg Skripochka and Aleksey Ovchinin, crew members of the long-term expedition 47/48 to the ISS, completed tasting the onboard ration at the CTC [Cosmonaut Training Center]," the statement read.

The cosmonauts tasted 20 meals at each session, rating them on a scale of one to nine, according to the press service.

Every crew carries out tastings six months prior to the mission, to determine whether cosmonauts have individual intolerances to some food products.

Calorie content of the main part of the daily ration makes up 2,000 kilocalories.

Source: Sputnik News