Download Document

By the 1960s, NASA
achieved an extraordinary
technological feat by sending
men into space but there was
one more problem to solve the food. Today most space
food looks a lot like food here
on the ground but a tasteless
paste has come a long way
from space exploration's early
days. So how has space food
transformed over the years?
What are the challenges of
transporting, cooking and
disposing of food beyond the
Earth's surface?
Because the first space flights lasted just a few minutes, there wasn't much
need to carry food onboard. But by the early 1960s, John Glenn and the
astronauts of Project Mercury were staying out for longer durations and had
to eat. The first space foods were tasteless, to say the least. Most were
semi-liquids that were squeezed from tubes and sucked up through straws.
There were also bite-sized cubes of compressed and dehydrated foods .
By the time the Gemini mission launched in 1965, the food had gotten a bit more
palatable. The astronauts were able to choose from a wider variety of foods,
including shrimp cocktails, turkey bites, cream of chicken soup and pudding. The
food was freeze-dried, meaning that it was cooked, quickly frozen and then put in a
vacuum chamber to remove the water. Freeze-drying preserved the food for the
flight without losing the flavor. To rehydrate the food, the astronauts simply injected
water into the package with a water gun.
For the Apollo program - the first to land men on the moon - NASA provided its
astronauts with hot water, which made rehydrating foods easier. The mission
introduced a spoon and a plastic container with food inside. After the astronauts
injected water into the bowl to rehydrate the food, they opened a zipper and ate the
food with a spoon.
The Skylab mission, launched in
1973, had even more of the comforts
of home. The large dining room and
table actually allowed astronauts sit
down and eat. Skylab had
refrigeration so it could carry a wider
variety of foods -- 72 different types
of menu items in all. Food warmer
trays allowed astronauts to heat their
food in-flight. By the early 1980s and
the launch of the first space shuttle,
meals looked almost identical to what
astronauts ate on Earth. Astronauts
designed their own seven day menus
selected from 74 different foods and
20 drinks. When the Space Shuttle
Discovery launched in 2006, it was
clear space food had entered a new
realm. Restaurateur and celebrity
chef, Emeril Lagasse, designed a
menu that included selections like
"kicked-up" mashed potatoes,
jambalaya and bread pudding.
Today astronauts have dozens of
different foods to choose from. A
dietitian checks the menu to make sure
that it contains enough nutrients.
Astronauts need 100 percent of their
daily requirements of vitamins and
minerals. But because the environment
in space is different than that of Earth,
they need to adjust their intake of
certain nutrients.Thus, astronauts need
less iron than they do on Earth. Iron is
mainly used to make new red blood
cells but astronauts have fewer red
blood cells in space. If they eat too
much iron, it can cause health
problems. Astronauts also need extra
calcium and vitamin D, because bones
don't get the exercise they need to stay
strong in the weightless environment.
About a month before a mission
launches, all food that will be
taken aboard is packaged and
stored in refrigerated lockers at
the Space Center. It's loaded
onboard the shuttle two to three
days before launch. The space
shuttle carries about 3.8 pounds of
food, including 1 pound of
packaging, per astronaut for each
day of the mission. The astronauts
get three meals a day, plus
snacks.
Food packaging is designed to be easy to use, small enough and
sturdy enough to keep food fresh for up to a year. Rehydratable
foods are packaged in flexible bowls with lids. Foods can also be
kept in cans with pull-off lids, plastic cups or flexible
pouches.Condiments like ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise have
their own packaging. Salt and pepper are stored in liquid form so
that the crystals or granules don't float away. The space shuttle gets
its water supply from fuel cells, which produce electricity by
combining hydrogen and oxygen -- the main components of water.
There are several classifications for food
that is sent into space
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Beverages (B) - Various rehydratable drinks.
Fresh Foods (FF)- Foods that spoil quickly that needs to be eaten
within the first two days of flight to prevent spoilage.
Irradiated (I) Meat - Beef steak that is sterilized with ionizing radiation
to keep the food from spoiling.
Intermediate Moisture (IM) - Foods that have some moisture but not
enough to cause immediate spoilage.
Natural Form (NF) - Mostly unprocessed foods such as nuts, cookies
and granola bars that are ready to eat.
Rehydratable (R) Foods - Foods that have been dehydrated and
allowed to rehydrate in hot water prior to consumption.
Thermostabilized (T) - Foods that have been processed with heat to
destroy microorganisms and enzymes that may cause spoilage.
Shelf Stable Tortillas - Tortillas that have been heat treated and
specially packaged in an oxygen-free nitrogen atmosphere to prevent
the growth of mold.
Condiments - Liquid salt solution, oily pepper paste, mayonnaise,
ketchup, and mustard.
AnItaverage
menu
consists
of
Eating
also
cause
a
problem
of
takes
about
20
to
30
In
1985
Coca-Cola
created
special
Today
astronauts
have
more
than
It
is
needed
1
pound
of
food,
2100
Kilocalories
is
needed
17%
of
protein
,
32%
of
fat
and
cleaning
up;
minutes
to
reconstitute
recipe
of
the
drink
especially
for
300
different
food
to
select
from
per
astronaut
for
each
day
of
per
person
per
day.
of
51%
carbohydrate.
crews
spent
up
to
90
minutes
a
and heat a meal.
spaceman.
the
day mission.
on housekeeping.
Today's astronauts usually stay in space for several months, at
most, they're able to carry all the food they'll need onboard. But in
the future, space missions could be extended. To get to NASA's
intended destination -- Mars -- and back again will take two years.
Astronauts will need to carry foods that have to five year shelf life.
They'll also need to start growing their own foods. NASA plans to
grow fruits and vegetables on space farms -- greenhouses that are
temperature-controlled, artificially lit and employ a hydroponic
system, which uses nutrients instead of typical soil. Crops might
include soybeans, peanuts, spinach, cabbage, lettuce and rice.
Wheat berries and soybeans
can be grown and processed
into pasta or bread. The
astronauts would then prepare
these foods into home-cooked
meals in a galley kitchen.
According to NASA, a sample
Martian dinner menu might
include spinach and tomato
crouton salad, wheat pasta with
tomato sauce and a chocolate
peanut butter soymilk shake.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sources
"Aromas and Odors in Space and their Effect on Appetite." Iowa State University.
http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/ftcsc/media/205b.html
"Bone Loss in Space." Iowa State
University.http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/ftcsc/media/302k.html
"Chinese Space Food to Hit Supermarket Shelves." Associated
Press.http://www.space.com/news/ap_070724_china_spacefood.html
"Food for Space Flight." NASA.
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/factsheets/food.html
"Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in Space." Iowa State
University.http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/ftcsc/media/103k.html
"Fresh Nutrition Inside the Space Suit." Iowa State
University.http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/ftcsc/media/205k.html
"Is that 'real' astronaut food?" Iowa State
University.http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/ftcsc/media/502k.html
"Just How Nasty is Space Food?" Discover Magazine.
http://discovermagazine.com/2008/feb/just-how-nasty-is-space-food
"NASA and Food Irradiation." Iowa State University.
http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/ftcsc/media/1002b.html
"Space Food." NASA. http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/living/spacefood/index.html
"Space Food: From Squeeze Tubes to Celebrity Chefs." Space.com.
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/061123)_space_food.html
"Space Food Packaging." Iowa State University.
http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/ftcsc/media/103b.html
"Space Food That's Light Years Beyond Freeze-Dried." Christian Science Monitor,
February 19, 1998.
"Taking Humdrum Astronaut Food, and Kicking it up a Notch." The New York Times,
August 29, 2006.