How do astronauts eat in space?
Image Source/ Kennedy Space Center
Before starting to look at the different types of foods that astronauts can eat in space, it's good to ask the question of how they actually eat in space, including packaging, transportation, and heating! Ultimately, the best form of packaging foods for space travel is just how you would do it here on Earth; airtight zip-lock bags, retort pouches and cans! Because of how compact they are, it stops the food from spoiling. Food can also be prepared with the use of microwaves and convection ovens on board the space craft.
Liquid form salt and pepper
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First things first, the bread and butter to any food; salt and pepper. These are two ingredients that must go in everything you eat, even if they were included in the preparation of the meal. You might be surprised that salt and pepper can't be taken to space as they are. The granular, flaky consistency they have can be dangerous in space. Without gravity, the seasonings could easily get in the eyes of the astronauts, or some could end up breathing it in. Instead, the salt is transported in water (but dissolved) and likewise with pepper but in food oil.
Foods with "intermediate moisture"
Image Source/ ISS
In terms of what kinds of foods can be brought aboard the space ships, there are restrictions for what types can be eaten on board a space craft. One of these restrictions is limited to foods with "intermediate moisture", so basically nothing too wet! The foods in question often contain a small amount of water and are soft. The less water, the less chance there is of mold. In order to get foods into this state, they might be dried using salting or sun-drying to make them applicable to bring on board.
All kinds of fruit...
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One important thing about being in a space craft, hovering in outer space, is being able to stay on top of your physical fitness. The anti-gravity will obviously have an effect on the astronauts body, meaning it can be harder for them to keep fit and healthy. Luckily for them, though, they can bring all types of fruit on board to keep their body and diet in shape! Considering the dry atmosphere in space, I can imagine that eating fruit would feel like a much-welcomed treat, with the water content!
...not to mention vegetables too!
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It isn't just fruit that astronauts can take on board with them, but vegetables too! As mentioned, it's really important that the health and well-being of the astronauts is taken into account while they float around in space on board the ship. Ultimately, there are a lot of challenges facing eating on board space ships, mainly because of the low gravity conditions. Therefore, when considering what foods astronauts should be eating in space, a lot of research and trial and error has been conducted.
Granola bars for breakfast
Image Source/ NASA
Granola bars are a great food to be consuming while on board a space craft. Not only are they dry already (so moisture doesn't really have to be considered), they are full of good nutrients for the astronauts. Research has found that when up in space for so long, astronauts can lose up to 20% of their muscle mass, and the anti-gravity can really effect their muscle density too. When planted back on Earth's soil, their bones can be so fragile that splinters and fractures become more likely when going about their daily activities.
Noodles are available on board the ISS
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Food on the ISS has been reassessed a number of times. At one point, in order to build comradeship between the astronauts on board and their nationalities, passengers were encouraged to choose their food options from a broad menu, usually iconic dishes of their home country. For Japan, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (also known as JAXA) managed to invent a rehydratable noodles in pouches that can be eaten on board the ISS. It's a fantastic way of giving the astronauts that piece of home.
Apparently Kung Pao Chicken is available too!
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As mentioned above, it wasn't just the Japanese that were given their choice of home delicacy. Chinese astronauts were also given the same choice and were presented with their own range of options for foods they were able to take on board with them. Naturally, one of these dishes was the ever-delicious Kung Pao chicken. Obviously, the space agency had to make certain adjustments to make sure that the dish was good to be taken on board. In the end, though, they managed to create a specially processed version of the dish.
Peanut butter is a great choice
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No doubt that being that far removed from Earth, astronauts begin to miss the finer and simpler things in life, one of these being sweet stuff. There's nothing better than a PB&J sandwich and while they can't take jelly on board with them to the ISS, peanut butter is an allowable spread that they can enjoy up in space. It's nice that astronauts are able to have access to these simpler foods, which can easily make them feel closer to home; the giant globe that floats beneath them in the fabric of space.
Yes, you can eat meat in space!
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Although you might not expect it, meat can indeed be eaten in outer space! Yeah, maybe not quite in the way that this meat and potato pie is circling the Earth, but in carefully, prepared ways. In order for astronauts to be able to have a daily intake of meat, the food must be prepared properly first before being sent up. The process in which this is done is by subjecting the meats to ionizing radiation, then packaged up securely. This way the risk of any form of microbial contamination is much, much less.
Astronauts have demanded hot sauce!
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Believe it or not, there's actually a strange phenomenon that can occur when astronauts spend so long in space; their taste buds change. Yep, that's right. It's to do with your bodily fluids being pulled towards your feet because of the gravity. However, in space, your bodily fluids float freely, therefore giving the same feeling as having blocked sinuses, and we all know what that means, bland food! Therefore, just to be able to add a little taste to something, astronauts have requested hot sauce be added to the inventory of the ISS!
Ready meals can be eaten too
Image Source/ European Space Agency
Luckily for astronauts they don't have to slave over the stove in order to enjoy a good dinner! Instead, they can have the convenience of heating up a pre-made "ready meal" always at hand. However, they have to be prepared in a very special way in order for them to be properly stored on board a space craft. The meals have to go through a process of thermostablization, which is essentially heat-treating the foods to kill off any bacteria within them. Once heated to the right temperature, they're quickly sealed in air-tight packaging.
Dairy products should be irradiated first...
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Not only is it meat that can be eaten once ionized first, dairy products are also subject to the same treatment before being sent to enjoy in space. The ionizing really helps with reducing those risks of organisms living in the dairy, and also helps to give it a longer-shelf life too! I'm sure milk might taste a little stranger in the anti-gravity environments, but ultimately I'm sure they're just glad they have it to hand! The space agencies have pulled out all the stops in order to make everything safe to eat and drink.
The journey to corned beef was an odd one
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Corned beef had an interesting journey into making its way onto the space craft. Back in 1965, when astronaut John Young was sent into space, he packed himself a dangerous little snack. He actually made himself a corned beef sandwich and sneaked it into the pocket of his spacesuit. Little did he know that when he exited the atmosphere the corned beef sandwich would fall right apart! However, a few years later, in 1981, it made an official entry into the menu for space travel, so all was well in the end!
Seafood if you fancy it!
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This might be a bit of a rogue and interesting one, but seafood was also added to the official ISS menu. It might not be the choice you want to opt for considering that you'd smell the space station out (I'm not sure the other astronauts would be very pleased!). Seafood is a good option though considering the nutrients, vitamins and all that good stuff. It's packaged and prepared very similar to how meat is prepared, so there isn't much difference there. Also, some people are pescatarians so would much rather eat seafood.
Nuts are a fab space food
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What better way to get your nutrients in than eating some nuts while in space? It's a fantastic way to make sure that the astronauts are getting all that good stuff into their bodies while not being on Earth. I guess though that there would have to be some caution involved just in case anyone is allergic to nuts. I'm sure that considering the confined nature of a space craft, any nuts that are opened will be detrimental to anyone with a severe nut allergy! Albeit they make for a great salty snack when you need one.
Chocolate bars are a great pick-me-up
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Whether in space or not, chocolate goes a long way! What's perfect for astronauts is that chocolate can actually be taken on board for them to enjoy, thousands of miles away from home. Amazing! There's nothing better than treating yourself to something sweet when you have that real sweet craving. It wouldn't be a good quality of living if there was no access to those sweet finer things in life! I bet not many people can say that they've enjoyed a lovely chocolate bar, or chocolate cookies in space!
Candy, candy, candy
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Not only does chocolate satisfy that wicked sweet tooth, but candy too! I'm not sure anyone would want to give up candy for the length of time required by astronauts to be in that little capsule up in space. Albeit, though, I'm sure not having access to the candy would equally make someone mad! There's various types of candy that are allowed on board a space craft and ultimately it's probably up to the astronaut what kind of candy they want to take up into space with them. It looks like this guy's having the time of his life!
Some sweet, sweet brownies
Image Source/ ISS
So, while we've been on the topic of sweet stuff that can be taken on board the ISS... astronauts can even be treated to some sweet brownies to have as well! Who wouldn't want some nice chocolate brownies to nibble on while hovering around in space? This would definitely be one of the foods I'd miss if I was sent up to the ISS, thankfully they're catering for all types. It's safe to say that the food and beverages allowed to be eaten in space are much less limited than what they used to be, but we'll come onto that a bit later...
Tea and coffee should never go amiss!
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How could anyone go without tea and coffee? Luckily for astronauts, this is another beverage they are allowed to have while on board the ISS. That means that the astronauts can easily get their caffeine fix while living up in the orbit of the Earth. Interestingly, you might be asking how often the ISS will get provisions sent to it. Well, every couple of months, either the European Space Agency or the Russian's 'Progress' space craft will be blasted out into space to land directly at the ISS and deliver a bunch of goods.
Who doesn't love a biscuit with their tea?
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Speaking of tea and coffee... you can't have hot beverages like that without having some biscuits to go alongside! Obviously, given how dry biscuits are, they are more than allowed to be flung up into space. If it were me taking biscuits up into space, then it would have to be a classic chocolate digestive. Assuming all is okay, astronauts could probably take whichever biscuits they prefer up into space with them... the options are truly endless (as is the space they're floating around in - scary!).
Treat yourself to a nice coffee with the ISSpresso machine
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Just when you thought it couldn't get better, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) hit it right out of the park with there next invention. Naturally, the tea and coffee available on board the ISS wasn't great, so they needed something a little bit more tasteful; and that's where ASI came in. Back in 2014, the ASI managed to produce a fantastic ISSpresso machine (hilarious pun), which managed to function despite being in space and subject to low gravity conditions. The following year, the first espresso was consumed by Samantha Cristoforetti in space.
Water comes available in a bag
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Here's a fun fact about the drinking water on the ISS, and you might not enjoy even imagining it. Naturally, it would be hard to transport all the water needed for a full crew every couple of months, so aerospace engineers had to get a little bit creative with how they were going to manage it. Therefore, they decided to recycle the water. They collected all the condensation on the walls of the ISS (mainly breath and sweat) and that then is purified to make a safe drinking water. You wouldn't want to think about it too much!
Lemonade is even available on board!
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If it couldn't get any better, the next beverage that astronauts have been allowed to drink is none other than lemonade. Who doesn't love an ice cold glass of lemonade during the summer? Well, I guess that seasons don't much exist for those in the ISS, but the principle is still the same! Freeze-dried lemonade is stored in a vacuum-sealed pouch when shot up to the ISS. Once arrived, all astronauts have to do is mix with water through a pressurized hose and then they must drink the pouch through a straw. Like a fizzy Capri Sun!
Alcohol has only ever been consumed once...
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Are you allowed to drink alcohol in space? The answer is... no, and it's not just because you might vomit! NASA swiftly banned drinking alcohol while in space and for good reason. Ultimately, they needed all astronauts on board to be alert and sober in case of any kind of emergency that would arise. However, it doesn't mean it's never happened. The only known time is when Edwin Buzz Aldrin completed his Holy Communion before descending to the moon out of the Apollo 11 lunar module. Now that really is a claim to fame!
They've even baked cookies in space!
Image Source/ BBC
That's right, some people have even baked in space! It was only in December 2019 when the crew on board the ISS decided to celebrate Christmas in their own little way, and what's better than baking up Santa some delicious warm cookies? Well, I guess they did kinda cheat when baking the cookies. They used pre-made cookie dough, which was sent up and provided by DoubleTree by Hilton. However, it took considerably longer to bake in the oven compared to at home, taking around two hours for them to fully bake.
What cutlery do they use?
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Space cutlery is relatively simple and isn't much different from what you would get at home! Astronauts are equipped with their own gear before setting off on their mission, and among that gear is usually some scissors, a knife, spoon and fork... naturally. Apparently though the astronauts have said that the spoon and scissors are the most useful utensils they could have had. There's no running water on the ISS, therefore in order to clean their cutlery, the astronauts have to just wipe it down with wipes after eating.
Where's the food stored?
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So how do the astronauts actually store their food? Well, surprisingly, there's no actually specific food freezer on board the ISS. Instead, they have a spectacular little friend called MERLIN, pictured here. It's a little cooler that was specifically designed for science experiments, but the crew have opted to use it for storage of their own drinks and foods. MERLIN can be set to any temperature between 4 degrees Fahrenheit and 119.3 degrees Fahrenheit, which is an incredible range and is obviously great for keeping things cold.
How many calories should they be consuming?
Image Source/ Wikipedia
As mentioned numerous times in the article, people back home have to make sure that the astronauts on board the ISS are keeping healthy and fit in order to maintain their well-being. This means that the crew have to eat the right amount of calories for them, especially with the likelihood of burning fat and muscle mass so quickly. This amount of calories can range and for a small woman might be around 1,900 calories a day, while for a large man might be around 3,200 calories a day; a significant difference.
Life wasn't always this good...
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So, as I mentioned much earlier in the article, life wasn't always this good for the astronauts. They didn't always get to choose their own delicacies from a menu, which they so favorably do now. Back in the "olden" days, astronauts had to eat what was given to them; they didn't have much of a choice. Most of the foods provided on board any kind of space craft were mainly dehydrated, which I can imagine was very dry, or provided in paste forms. Also, they had to eat the paste directly from the tube! Where's the joy in that?