1

5

The Space Food Odyssey By Dorian Nousias

Evolution of Space Food Astronauts on the Mercury space shuttle had to deal with small cubes, freeze-dried powders, and semi-liquids in aluminum tubes. It got better on the Gemini when everything was packaged better and the aluminum tubes were taken off the menu. The cubes had a gelatin covering it to keep crumbs from floating away into machines and possibly damaging them. Also the freeze-dried powder was put into a better plastic container that made it easier to eat and gave the Astronauts a more flexible menu. The Apollo missions had hot water to make reconstituting easier and made the food taste better. Also the Spoon Bowl was made so they could eat with a spoon. On Skylab, you could strap yourself onto a seat and “sit down” at a dinner table. You could eat with a spoon, fork, and knife. Also because of the amount of room Skylab had, it could carry 72 different kinds of food.

How Do Astronauts Eat Space Food? To make the food, Astronauts must attach the pouch to a water dispenser and then put it into an oven to heat it up to the correct temperature. A food container holds the food. It is similar to a dinner plate. It does not let the food float away and you are able to use a fork, knife, and spoon. The last utensils used in space are scissors that cut open the food packages. The space food that Astronauts eat does not need to be refrigerated (except for fruits and vegetables) and to make them all you need to do is rehydrate it or heat it up.

What Kinds Of Food Do Astronauts Eat? Rehydratable Food – While flying, the Space Shuttle creates water by combining hydrogen and oxygen using the Space orbiter fuel cell. To create these foods, water is inserted into a package dehydrated foods to rehydrate it. These foods include Beef Pattie, Beef Stroganoff w/Noodles, Cereal, Chicken, and Strawberries. Thermostabalized Food – These foods are heat processed to destroy harmful bacteria in the foods. All you need to do is heat it up and cut the plastic can open. Then you eat out Natural Form (NF) Foods – These foods are already prepared in sealed packages that are opened with scissors. This category includes nuts, granola bars, and cookies. Condiments – Dropper bottles carry pepper floating in liquid and salt dissolved into water.

Astronauts Actually Eat This Stuff!!! The Space Agriculture Task Force and the Japanese space agency has been working together to create these “space food bugs.” On long missions they can reproduce very quickly and give amino acids and necessary fat to the Astronauts that plants cannot They are able to eat things that humans can’t so any dietary openings are filled in. The Japanese space agency and The Space Agriculture Task Force have already made cookies on Silkworms!!! Astronauts can easily make food on long trips by eating bugs!

THE END

Credits Akiko Yamashita http://discovermagazine.com/2007/nov/is-this-the-new-space food/bug_kabab.jpg a ____ in light http://flickr.com/photos/i_am_a_mike/545576773/ j l t http://flickr.com/photos/jlt/2335456679/ Mafleen http://flickr.com/photos/mafleen/198397457/ Marko_K http://flickr.com/photos/marko_k/209918012/ Mobo85 http://flickr.com/photos/mobo85/632369677/ Parry, Wynne. "The Future of Space Food: Bugs Space Flight DISCOVER Magazine - Mozilla Firefox." Discover Magazine. 20 May 2008 <http://discovermagazine.com/2007/nov/is-this-the-new-space-food>. Petty, John I. "HSF - Mozilla Firefox." 7 Apr. 2002. 20 May 2008 <http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/factsheets/food.html>. Quiplash! http://flickr.com/photos/quiplash/194994543/ TopTechWriter.US http://flickr.com/photos/toptechwriter/468663309/