Space food

Food aboard the Space Shuttle served on a tray. Note the use of magnets, springs, and Velcro to hold the cutlery and food packets to the tray
Red LED lights illuminate potato plants in a NASA study on growing food in space

Space food is a variety of food products, specially created and processed for consumption by astronauts in outer space. The food has specific requirements of providing balanced nutrition for individuals working in space, while being easy and safe to store, prepare and consume in the machinery-filled low gravity environments of manned spacecraft. In recent years, space food has been used by various nations engaging on space programs as a way to share and show off their cultural identity and facilitate intercultural communication. Although astronauts consume a wide variety of foods and beverages in space, the initial idea from The Man in Space Committee of the Space Science Board was to supply astronauts with a formula diet that would supply all the needed vitamins and nutrients.[1]

Early history

Astronauts making and eating hamburgers on board the ISS August 2007.

For lunch on Vostok I (1961) Yuri Gagarin ate three 160 g toothpaste-type tubes, which contained two servings of puréed meat and one of chocolate sauce.

In August 1961, Soviet Cosmonaut Gherman Titov became the first human to experience space sickness on Vostok II; he holds the record for being the first person to vomit in space.[2] According to Lane and Feeback, this event "heralded the need for space flight nutrition."[3]

One of John Glenn's many tasks, as the first American to orbit Earth in 1962, was to experiment with eating in weightless conditions. Some experts had been concerned that weightlessness would impair swallowing. Glenn experienced no difficulties and it was determined that microgravity did not affect the natural swallowing process, which is enabled by the peristalsis of the esophagus.

Astronauts in later Mercury missions (1959-1963) disliked the food that was provided. They ate bite-sized cubes, freeze-dried powders, and tubes of semiliquids. The astronauts found it unappetizing, experienced difficulties in rehydrating the freeze-dried foods, and did not like having to squeeze tubes or collect crumbs.[4] Prior to the mission, the astronauts were also fed low residual launch-day breakfasts, to reduce the chances that they would defecate in flight.[5]

Project Gemini and Apollo (1965-1975)

Several of the food issues from the Mercury missions were addressed for the later Gemini missions (1965-1966). Tubes (often heavier than the foods they contained) were abandoned. Gelatin coatings helped to prevent bite-sized cubes from crumbling. Simpler rehydration methods were developed. The menus also expanded to include items such as shrimp cocktail, chicken and vegetables, toast squares, butterscotch pudding, and apple juice.[4]

The crew of Gemini III snuck a corned beef sandwich on their spaceflight. Mission Commander Gus Grissom loved corned beef sandwiches, so Pilot John Young brought one along, having been encouraged by fellow astronaut Walter Schirra. However, Young was supposed to eat only approved food, and Grissom was not supposed to eat anything. Floating pieces of bread posed a potential problem, causing Grissom to put the sandwich away (although he did enjoy it)[6] and the astronauts were mildly rebuked by NASA for the act. A congressional hearing was called, forcing the NASA deputy administrator George Mueller to promise no repeats. NASA took special care about what astronauts brought along on future missions.[7][8][9]

Prior to the Apollo program (1968-1975), early space food development was conducted at the US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine and the Natick Army Labs.[3] The variety of food options continued to expand for the Apollo missions. The new availability of hot water made rehydrating freeze-dried foods simpler, and produced a more appetizing result. The "spoon-bowl" allowed more normal eating practices. Food could be kept in special plastic zip-closure containers, and its moisture allowed it to stick to a spoon.[4]

Skylab (1973-1974)

Skylab 2 crew eats food during ground training

Larger living areas on the Skylab space station (1973-1974) allowed for an on-board refrigerator and freezer, which allowed perishable and frozen items to be stored and made microgravity the primary obstacle.[10]:142–144 When Skylab's solar panels were damaged during its launch and the station had to rely on minimal power from the Apollo Telescope Mount until Skylab 2 crewmembers performed repairs, the refrigerator and freezer were among the systems that Mission Control kept operational.

Menus included 72 items; for the first time about 15% was frozen. Shrimp cocktail and butter cookies were consistent favorites; Lobster Newburg, fresh bread,[11] processed meat products, and ice cream were among other choices. A dining room table and chairs, fastened to the floor and fitted with foot and thigh restraints, allowed for a more normal eating experience. The trays used could warm the food, and had magnets to hold eating utensils and scissors used for opening food containers.[10]:142–144[12]:29 The food was similar to that used for Apollo, but canned for preservation;[11] the crew found it to be better than that of Apollo but still unsatisfying, partially due to food tasting different in space than on Earth.[10]:292–293,308 The frozen foods were the most popular, and they enjoyed spicy foods[12]:130 due to head congestion from weightlessness dulling their senses of taste and smell.[10]:292–293,308 Weightlessness also complicated both eating and cleaning up; crews spent up to 90 minutes a day on housekeeping.[13]

After astronaut requests, NASA bought Paul Masson Rare Cream Sherry for one Skylab mission and packaged some for testing on a reduced gravity aircraft. In microgravity smells quickly permeate the environment and the agency found that the sherry triggered the gag reflex. Concern over public reaction to taking alcohol into space led NASA to abandon its plans, so astronauts drank the purchased supply while consuming their pre-mission special diet.[11]

NASA astronauts enjoying space "vodka": the tubes hold borscht over which vodka labels have been pasted
A tube of borscht produced in Estonia for the Soviet space program

The astronauts of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (1975) received samples of Soviet space food when the combined crew dined together. Among the foods provided by Soyuz 19 were canned beef tongue, packaged Riga bread, and tubes of borscht (beet soup) and caviar. The borscht was labeled "vodka".[14]

Modern

Today, fruits and vegetables that can be safely stored at room temperature are eaten on space flights. Astronauts also have a greater variety of main courses to choose from, and many request personalized menus from lists of available foods including items like fruit salad and spaghetti. Astronauts sometimes request beef jerky for flights, as it is lightweight, calorie dense, and can be consumed in orbit without packaging or other changes.

Rehydratable Shōyu flavoured Japanese ramen from JAXA.

NASA's Advanced Food Technology Project (AFT) is currently researching ways to ensure an adequate food supply for long-duration space exploration missions.[27]

Processing

Russian space food

Designing food for consumption in space is an often difficult process. Foods must meet a number of criteria to be considered fit for space. Firstly, the food must be physiologically appropriate. Specifically, it must be nutritious, easily digestible, and palatable. Secondly, the food must be engineered for consumption in a zero gravity environment. As such, the food must be light, well packaged, fast to serve and require minimal cleaning up. (Foods that tend to leave crumbs, for example, are ill-suited for space.) Finally, foods require a minimum of energy expenditure throughout their use; they must store well, open easily and leave little waste behind.

Carbonated drinks have been tried in space, but are not favored due to changes in belching caused by microgravity; without gravity to separate the liquid and gas in the stomach, burping results in a kind of vomiting called "wet burping".[28] Coca-Cola and Pepsi were first carried on STS-51-F in 1985. Coca-Cola has flown on subsequent missions in a specially designed dispenser that utilizes BioServe Space Technologies hardware used for biochemical experiments. Space Station Mir carried cans of Pepsi in 1996.

Beer has also been developed that counteracts the reduction of taste and smell reception in space and reduces the possibility of wet belches (vomiting caused by belching) in microgravity. Produced by Vostok 4-Pines Stout, a parabolic flight experiment validated that the reduced carbonation recipe met the criteria intended for space.[29] Barley harvested from crops grown for several generations in space has also been brought back to Earth to produce beer. While not a space food (it used the same high carbonation 'Earth' recipe), the study did demonstrate that ingredients grown in space are safe for production.[30]

Packaging

Food tray used aboard the Space Shuttle

Packaging for space food serves the primary purposes of preserving and containing the food. The packaging, however, must also be light-weight, easy to dispose and useful in the preparation of the food for consumption. The packaging also includes a bar-coded label, which allows for the tracking of an astronaut's diet. The labels also specify the food's preparation instructions in both English and Russian.[28]

Many foods from the Russian space program are packaged in cans and tins.[31] These are heated through electro-resistive (ohmic) methods, opened with a can-opener, and the food inside consumed directly. Russian soups are hydrated and consumed directly from their packages.[32]

NASA space foods are packaged in retort pouches or employ freeze drying.[31] They are also packaged in sealed containers which fit into trays to keep them in place. The trays include straps on the underside, allowing astronauts to attach the tray to an anchor point such as their legs or a wall surface and include clips for retaining a beverage pouch or utensils in the microgravity environment.

Types

Assortment of foods like those served aboard the ISS.

There are several classifications for food that is sent into space:[4][33]

More common staples and condiments do not have a classification and are known simply by the item name:

Consumer derivatives

Capitalizing on the popularity of the Apollo space missions, Pillsbury marketed "Food Sticks" (also known as "Space Food Sticks") for the consumer market in the early 1970s.[34] Fourteen individually packaged sticks were included in a box, and came in six flavors such as peanut butter, caramel, and chocolate. Food Sticks were marketed as a "nutritionally balanced between meal snack".

Most of these products can now be found in NASA Space Center gift shops, general novelty shops or at Army Surplus stores. Campers have taken to using products such as Tang due to their reliability, but some others, such as many of the freeze dried foods, contain fragrances that can attract bears, cougars, and other forest animals.

Tang, originally marketed in 1959, also saw an increase in popularity during this era due to its inclusion on the manned space flights.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12419.html
  2. ↑ Glenday, Craig, ed. (2012). Guinness World Records 2013. Guinness World Records. p. 27. ISBN 9781904994879.
  3. 1 2 Lane, Helen W.; Feeback, Daniel L. (October 2002). "History of nutrition in space flight". Nutrition 18 (10): 797–804. doi:10.1016/S0899-9007(02)00946-2.
  4. 1 2 3 4 NASA (2002-04-07). "Food For Space Flight". Fact Sheet Library. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  5. ↑ Evans, Ben, "Why Postpone a Success?" The Days Before Freedom 7, AmericaSpace, LLC
  6. ↑ Voice Transcript of GT-3 NASA.gov
  7. ↑ Detailed Biographies of Apollo I Crew - Gus Grissom NASA.gov
  8. ↑ Gemini III Fact Sheet Spaceline.org
  9. ↑ De Groot, Gerard. Dark Side of the Moon: The Magnificent Madness of the American Lunar Quest. (NYU Press, 2006), p.190
  10. 1 2 3 4 Benson, Charles Dunlap and William David Compton. Living and Working in Space: A History of Skylab. NASA publication SP-4208.
  11. 1 2 3 Ross-Nazzal, Jennifer (7 April 2006). "Edited Oral History Transcript - Charles T. Bourland". NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project.
  12. 1 2 Belew, Leland. (editor) Skylab, Our First Space Station NASA publication SP-400.
  13. ↑ "Living It Up in Space" Time, 25 June 1973.
  14. ↑ Former Astronaut Recalls Historic Apollo-Soyuz Mission NASA
  15. ↑ "杨利伟的10月15日:飞船中的"非常"生活". Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  16. ↑ "Chinese astronaut food to hit market shelves". Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  17. ↑ "China-made space food for astronauts on display". Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  18. ↑ Povoledo, Elisabetta (4 May 2015). "Espresso? Now the International Space Station Is Fully Equipped". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  19. ↑ Pearlman, Robert Z. (4 May 2015). "To boldly brew: Astronaut uses ISSpresso to make first cup of coffee in space". CollectSpace.com. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  20. ↑ "Space Coffee - NASA Science". science.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2015-07-11.
  21. ↑ 「宇宙日本食」の認証について, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), 2007
  22. ↑ 宇宙日本食, 2010
  23. ↑ Starship Kimchi: A Bold Taste Goes Where It Has Never Gone Before
  24. ↑ "Pravda: Healthy diet of Russian cosmonauts ruins NASA's space toilets". English pravda.ru. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  25. ↑ "Christer Fuglesang redo för rymden efter 14 års träning" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
  26. ↑ "Torkat renkött störde julfriden" (in Swedish). Sydsvenska dagbladet. Archived from the original on 2009-01-20.
  27. ↑ "NASA - Human Systems Engineering and Development (HSED) - HRP Advanced Food Technology". Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  28. 1 2 Kloeris, Vickie (May 1, 2001). "Eating on the ISS". Field Journal:Vickie Kloeris. Retrieved 2006-12-12. Because there is no gravity, the contents of your stomach float and tend to stay at the top of your stomach, under the rib cage and close to the valve at the top of your stomach. Because this valve isn't a complete closure (just a muscle that works with gravity), if you burp, it becomes a wet burp from the contents in your stomach.
  29. ↑ Connelly, Claire (2001-03-01), "How does space beer taste? It's out of this world...", news.com.au
  30. ↑ Mason, Betsy (2009-12-08), "Barley + Space = Space Beer!", wired.com
  31. 1 2 Bourland, Charles (2001) Packaging foods for flight— NASA FTCSC News, July 2001
  32. ↑ Lu, Edward (2003) Expedition 7: Eating at Cafe ISS, Greetings Earthlings:Ed's musings from space,
  33. ↑ Perchonok, M; Douglas, G; Cooper, M (2009). "Risk of Performance Decrement and Crew Illness Due to an Inadequate Food System". In McPhee, J; Charles, J. Human health and performance risks of space exploration missions : evidence reviewed by the NASA Human Research Program (PDF). Johnson Space Center, Houston: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-0160846342.
  34. ↑ "Space Food Sticks". Retrieved 8 October 2014.

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