The Last Frontier of Food

CHI investigates how astronauts perform the most basic human function differently in space

Superstars of decades past, astronauts nowadays seem hardly newsworthy. However, those space travelers who do end up in the public eye are able to share their lives and work with the world. Thanks to modern technology, people on Earth have more insight than ever before into what life is like in space. And astronauts have been happy to oblige a curious public.

Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield has become one of the most famous present-day astronauts due to his tweets from the International Space Station, videos from onboard the vessel, and - most famously - a music video of himself performing a David Bowie song (“Space Oddity,” naturally) in space.

Shenzhou X, the 10th mission of this Chinese spacecraft, launched on June 11, 2013 and docked with the Tiangong 1 space laboratory just last week, on June 13.  The astronauts onboard have been offering glimpses into the everyday aspects of space travel; most notably, they’re telling the public what’s for dinner.

One of the necessities of life, whether with feet firmly planted on the Earth or soaring miles above the planet, food is a uniting factor among human beings, so it’s only natural that people would be interested about in-flight meal times. Technology has allowed these Chinese astronauts to share photos of some of their staple meals; they’ve already dug into sweet rice dumplings and sweet lotus seeds, and word is that there’s Yangchow fried rice and Chinese barbeque chicken to come.

Like nearly everything on a mission, the food has to be adapted to the conditions of space.  Imagine eating a plate of regular Earth rice in zero gravity – the cleanup of hundreds of grains floating in all directions would take hours. But what exactly is space food? How is it different from food on Earth? And how healthy is it?

What is it?

Space food has come a long way.  From toothpaste-like tubes of squeezable food in the 1950s and ‘60s, astronauts now feast on a variety of fruits, vegetables and main dishes much more similar to Earth food. Years of innovation and research by scientists on Earth as well as astronauts testing out items in space has led to the more like-for-like space food of today.

Each country in space creates its own unique dishes that reflect the culture at home; something the astronauts will enjoy eating. Space missions even send along fresh fruit and vegetables, because although these items will rot quickly, they provide a sense of home and comfort to astronauts. The mental and psychological health of the astronauts is just as important as their physical health. And so, space food is not as mysterious as it seems. It is usually made on Earth from items often found in a grocery store.

How is it different from Earth food?

A main concern about space food as opposed to Earth food is the construction of the item itself.  Any extra weight is avoided on space shuttles, so the lighter the food, the better. Clean-up is also an issue.  Zero gravity makes cleaning up very difficult and time consuming, so foods that are contained in an appropriate packaging or naturally stick together well are preferred. It is also a plus if the container can be used to prepare or eat the food, and isn’t just garbage to be immediately thrown away. Waste, of course, is another concern in space.

Russian foods tend to be packaged in cans or tins and eaten directly from these containers. The American NASA program opts for packaging foods in small pouches or freeze-drying them. Dehydrated foods are doubly beneficial because they keep longer than normal food and weigh less with the water removed. Astronauts add water to these foods to rehydrate them before eating. As another addition to packaging, space foods are commonly made with Velcro on the bottom of the container to keep the meal on a tray or table top, rather than floating above the dinner table.

Is it healthy?

Above all else, space food is absolutely healthy. Balanced nutrition is extremely important for astronauts. The number one requirement in creating food for space is that it is suitable for an astronauts’ body – nutritious, easily digested, and tasty. Packages of space food even have barcodes on them that are used to track astronauts’ exact diets and food intake. Nothing is left to chance on a space mission, even what the astronauts snack on. Diets are well planned out for weeks ahead of a mission so that each day astronauts get 100 percent of their daily value of vitamins and minerals needed in space.

A spaceship in zero gravity and thousands of miles from Earth is not the place to get sick. Food scientists, dieticians and engineers do their best to make sure this does not happen by analyzing foods for nutritional content, packaging and storage requirements and more. Astronauts also get to test the foods and beverages and help plan their own daily menus before the space flight. Curious Earthlings can try out some of these unique foods for themselves. NASA gift shops, novelty shops and retailers online all offer different space meals, such as the infamous astronaut ice cream – a freeze-dried, dehydrated brick of frozen dessert.

Development of space food is an ongoing process. Researchers are currently grappling with the idea of potentially supplying humans en route to Mars with enough food for this entire lengthy mission. Growing vegetables in space is an appealing idea, as it could offer nutrition to astronauts as well as variety in taste and texture. Of course this would also be a huge step forward insofar as astronauts would be not just transporting and eating food, but actually creating it in space.

Astronauts’ psychological health is a continuing concern for space food development; food plays a major role in mental state, and studies have shown that healthier and tastier foods can help reduce stress in a space crew. Considering this, freshly grown foods could be a huge advantage to an overall mission. Advances in storage, shelf life and packaging are also being developed, and are important steps toward achieving the goal of nutritious and ultimately enjoyable food in space.

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