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Food is an extremely vital part of our existence. A healthy diet supports emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing. Both astronauts in orbit and those of us on Earth benefit from a wholesome and appetizing meal. A well-rounded food system fosters wellbeing and adaptability, empowering us to tackle the challenges we confront every day. Many people on Earth enjoy the convenience of eating whatever they want, whenever they want, and having access to a wide variety of food. Things are a little different in space. Brownies and fruit are examples of meals that can be consumed on the International Space Station (ISS) in their original state. Others, such macaroni and cheese or spaghetti, need a machine to rehydrate the food by adding water. These kinds of foods are dehydrated to make them lighter.
There is no refrigerator on board the ISS, but there is an oven that astronauts can use to prepare their food to the right temperature. To prevent food from rotting, it must be properly packaged or processed. The astronauts in orbit have access to condiments like ketchup, mustard, salt, and pepper that we frequently use on Earth. Because salt and pepper would float away in their natural condition or, worse, become stuck in an air vent or someone's eye, they are added to drinks.
NASA nutritionists create dietary guidelines that offer a well-balanced supply of vitamins and minerals to keep crew members healthy throughout extended space missions. Because of their size and other criteria including age, metabolism, and gender, astronauts have different calorie intake needs. meals experts research a range of variables at the NASA Johnson Space Centre (JSC) Space Food Systems Laboratory to create space meals.
Eight categories of space food exist:
Rehydrable foods: Rehydratable foods are dehydrated to eliminate the water, which makes them simpler to store. Before eating, the foods have water substituted in them. Beverages and food products are both rehydratable items. Oatmeal is a type of hot cereal that can be rehydrated.
Thermostabilized Food: Food that has been heat-processed to achieve thermostability can be kept at room temperature. Most fruits and fish, including tuna fish, are canned after being thermostabilized. The cans include pull tabs that are simple to use that resemble the fruit cups that can be bought at the nearby grocery shop. Plastic cups are used to package pudding.
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Foods with Intermediate Moisture: Foods with intermediate moisture are maintained by removing some water while keeping enough to preserve the soft texture. It can be consumed this way without needing to prepare it. These foods include beef jerky, dried apricots, pears, and peaches.
Natural Form Food: These foods come in flexible pouches and are ready to eat. Nuts, granola bars, and cookies are a few examples.
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Irradiated food: At the moment, only smoked turkey and beef steak have been used. To enable room temperature storage, these items are prepared, placed in flexible foil pouches, and sterilized using ionizing radiation. For the ISS, further radioactive materials are being created.
Frozen Food: Food that has been quickly frozen to prevent the formation of big ice crystals. This keeps the food tasting fresh and preserves its original texture. Chicken pot pie, quiches, and casseroles are a few examples.
Fresh Food: Food that is fresh has not been treated or chemically preserved. Apples and bananas are two examples.
Refrigerated Food: Foods that must be refrigerated must be kept at cool or chilly temperatures to avoid spoiling. Cream cheese and sour cream are two examples.
Another success story has been produced by food scientists at the Johnson Space Centre’s Space Food Systems Laboratory. They created unique tortillas that continue to taste wonderful after almost a year. A typical sandwich with two slices of bread would require three hands to assemble; otherwise, one slice would float away! Tortillas in space work excellent for producing sandwich roll-ups. These tortillas are packaged specially by the scientists and contain an oxygen scavenger to keep them fresh.
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By investigating new technologies and performing studies on cultivating plants, breeding animals, and food in microgravity challenges space agencies continuously strive to improve space food. These initiatives strive to improve the food in space in terms of quality, diversity, and sustainability.
It's important to note that space food technology has advanced over time, including contributions from numerous space agencies like NASA, ESA, and Roscosmos. Private space firms like SpaceX are also making investments in the creation of creative food solutions for upcoming space flights. In following blogs, we'll blog about the developments in space food technology and space foods.
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