What do astronauts eat in space?

If you make the mistake of eating a fizzy chickpea salad for lunch at the office, you might feel a little rumbling in your stomach during afternoon meetings. But if your work is in outer space, the consequences are a little more severe.

Astronauts have some food choices, but meals are often packaged months ahead of time. Additionally, astronauts must figure out how to eat in microgravity when their food and utensils can float off the plate.

But with all the advances in food technology, there are some foods that are just terrible in space.

Why should we worry about what astronauts eat in space? Vickie Kloeris, a food scientist and retired manager of space food systems for NASA, said, “If you look at the history of the space program, humanity in general has benefited from the technologies that have come out of the space program.” So figuring out how to keep astronauts healthy, happy, and well-nourished is an essential part of any space mission.

It turns out that space experts have five types of food they would advise against consuming in space.

Anyone who has had the misfortune of getting food poisoning has no desire to repeat the experience. “Nothing would be more miserable than vomiting or [worse] in orbit,” Kloeris said. Microgravity would make things very messy and smelly, all in close proximity.

Many foods can be a risk for food poisoning, including undercooked meat or seafood, unpasteurized dairy products, and unwashed fruits and vegetables. Since the International Space Station doesn’t have a dedicated food refrigerator, everything has to be shelf-stable, explained Kloeris, who is also the author of NASA’s Space Bites: Reflections of a Food Scientist.

There are eight general categories of food that astronauts can eat according to NASA. First, there are rehydrated foods, where the water has been removed and can be rehydrated before eating, such as oatmeal, rice, ramen, and powdered drinks. Thermostabilized foods are processed with heat and include food items such as canned fish, fruits and vegetables. There are intermediate moisture foods, which are foods that have had some water removed and can include dried fruit and jams.

Next are irradiated foods, which have been exposed to ionizing radiation (often used with meat products). Then there are frozen foods, like chicken pot pie, and natural foods that come in ready-to-eat packages, like nuts and granola bars. The last two categories are fresh foods, which include unprocessed foods such as vegetables or fruits (these should be consumed quickly); and then refrigerated foods such as dairy products.

Since everything has to be shelf-stable, NASA errs “on the side of being conservative in their microbiological requirements to prevent” food poisoning, Kloeris explained. Nothing is left to chance; all food is tested for safety and taste by the astronauts themselves. A nutritionist reviews the astronauts’ preferred menus to ensure they have a balanced meal.

On top of NASA’s strictness with astronaut food itself, the agency requires astronauts to quarantine for seven days before launch to keep the crew healthy. It also means astronauts don’t eat out or at home, “as this increases their exposure to others as well as their chances of getting a foodborne illness,” Kloeris said in her book.

Meals ready to eat (MREs) are self-contained, shelf-stable rations used by the United States military. But unfortunately, they can wreak havoc in space.

MREs are high in salt and fat, which is important for the military as it provides salt to replace electrolytes sweated out in the desert and lots of calories in a compact space, Kloeris explained. But the high salt content would exacerbate one of the known side effects of microgravity – loss of bone density. Without the constant push of gravity, humans have been found to lose bone density while in space. NASA explains: “For each month in space, astronauts’ weight-bearing bones become approximately 1% less dense unless they take precautions to counteract this loss.”

Significant exercise helps reduce bone density and lean muscle mass, but diet plays a role. Salt can make bone loss worse – Kloeris said the first thing your doctor will tell you if you have osteoporosis is “don’t eat a high-salt diet.”

Nothing is as satisfying as crunching a crisp potato chip. But chips, bread and other crumb-producing foods are dangerous in space.

It all depends on microgravity. On Earth, crumbs just fall to the floor. But in space, they float and create a mess. Jordan Bimm, a space historian and professor of science communication at the University of Chicago, noted that debris can get into air filters, onboard instruments and even into astronauts’ eyes. In 1965, astronaut John Young got in trouble for smuggling a beef sandwich into space in Gemini III, but he only ate a small amount for fear of crumbs getting everywhere.

While there have been attempts to bring Pringles and other crunchy items into space, it generally wasn’t worth the mess and anxiety. Instead, astronauts mostly use tortillas instead of bread. Other options are cookies and crackers that can be eaten whole without too many crumbs.

No one particularly likes bland food, but it’s a special issue in space. Dr. Michael Harrison, chief medical officer for Axiom Space, noted that “due to shifts in body fluids in microgravity, astronauts often have a sense of facial and sinus congestion. This has an impact on their sense of smell and taste.” Hot sauces, such as Tabasco or Sriracha, are particular favorites because they add a strong flavor to their meals.

But it’s not just a matter of wanting to enjoy their food. Not only does food provide nutritional benefits, but eating delicious food also has psychological benefits. “What binds them all together? It’s food,” he explained Stephanie Wanadvisor of strategic partnerships in support of The challenge of food in deep space of the Methuselah Foundation. Food brings the crew together and encourages social bonding and team building, Kloeris noted.

Early in the US space program, NASA was quite utilitarian when it came to food; The agency’s concern was providing calories and reducing the weight of food for the astronauts, he explained Richard Fossculinary historian and author of “Air and Space: The Surprising Story of Food and Drink in the Skies.” The agency wasn’t even sure if people could eat in space. The challenge was to make something compact, easily usable by someone with gloves – since astronauts lived in their suits in the early years of the program – that someone could squeeze into the mouth, bypassing the nose.

After all, it would be cold since the capsules weren’t heated, Foss noted. And the first foods sent were mashed potatoes or mashed spaghetti.

“If you think about holding your nose and eating something straight out of the fridge, you’ll get an idea of ​​how delicious this is,” Foss noted. As a result, the astronauts hated to eat and landed on Earth dehydrated, hungry and disoriented, which is a significant problem in keeping astronauts healthy and happy.

Sipping a glass of bubbly sounds like the perfect thing to drink while looking back at the ground. But NASA and the International Space Station have banned alcohol. Kloeris noted that the ban was originally due to security concerns; if we don’t want pilots and train conductors drinking on the job, maybe we don’t want astronauts buzzing or getting drunk in a complicated apparatus like a space shuttle. Damage to property in space would be a big problem.

Over time, NASA learned that during the recycling of water and air, ethanol does not break down. Kloeis noted that “when ethanol gets into the air, it becomes a pollutant in the air system and then in the water system.” But of course, even though it poses a risk, a bottle or two of unofficial drinks have made it to space, such as cognac with Russian cosmonauts.

It’s not all doom and gloom when it comes to food. Astronauts have options; Kloeris noted that astronauts have over 200 different foods and beverages available in the NASA program. Due to regular deliveries to the International Space Station, astronauts can get some fresh fruits and vegetables, and sometimes even frozen treats. Wan said that the first Korean astronautSoyeon Yi, brought kimchi to space in 2008. Harrison noted that Axiom has brought a variety of foods to space, including “jamon de bellota, dates, Arabic coffee, turron de Alicante, Swedish candy and Turkish food.”

But long-term space travel to Mars and beyond will need innovative solutions to keep astronauts happy and healthy. Thanks to the work of companies and competitions like the Deep Space Food Challenge, we’ll see some incredible technologies that can impact people both on Earth and in space. And maybe one day astronauts might be able to safely enjoy a beef sandwich on thick bread.