What’s an astronaut's favorite food? It’s shrimp cocktail, but not for the reasons you may think.
When crew members go into orbit, the fluids in their bodies rise to their heads in the microgravity environment of low-Earth orbit, making it feel like they have a constant cold. A common way to combat the congestion is to enjoy a treat with a kick to it, hence the shrimp cocktail.
That’s what NASA food scientist Vickie Kloeris said when asked what’s a popular food amongst a crew. “When they were congested, that aroma, those flavors still got through,” said Kloeris.
Kloeris has served 34 years in the food systems department at the agency. She has created and tested numerous meals for astronauts on the Shuttle program and the International Space Station.
Her new memoir, “Space Bites: Reflections of a NASA Food Scientist”, follows her unforgettable memories in the field. Kloeris said her journey started when she took a course in food microbiology. She then landed her first job in Houston doing quality assurance in a hospital food plant. Eventually, she found her way to NASA where Kloeris said she’s learned some fun lessons from crew members.
One of the challenges that food scientists face with microgravity is the wariness of crumbs. That kept many foods on the ground, including crumby potato chips. But a canned version of the snack -- Pringles -- had promise with some of the astronauts
“Prior to Pringles, all the chips were in bags, so nobody during my career wanted to take a bag of chips, they knew it would be pulverized when it got to orbit,” Kloeris said. “A couple of the crew members were like ‘Hey this might work, you know a can?’ And we tried to caution but they said ‘Well, it’s canned but there’s a lot of crumbs in the bottom of that can.’”
After that, potato chips were grounded.
Comforts of home
For Kloeris, considerations for what food to pack for a space mission are more than just physical -- food has a major psychological impact on astronauts. The relationship between food and crew members is imperative during long-duration trips, especially on the International Space Station, where these missions can be longer than six months.
She said some crew members will bring goodies from home in their preference containers for holidays and special occasions to ease their homesickness. And sometimes they get really special treats, like frozen ice cream.
Not only is food crucial during a mission, but it is also considered as the crew quarantines at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center ahead of a launch. Before a mission to the space station, crew members enter a roughly two-week quarantine to avoid sickness or germs.
NASA Chef Joe Alfano, who cooks for the astronauts during this period said “it’s like any healthy cooking, the right fats and proteins, very important because they’re getting ready for fight, they’re exercising. And low salt.” The crew goes through daily routine checks to ensure that they maintain a healthy weight.
A menu beyond low-Earth orbit
And while much consideration goes into astronaut menus, the current state of food systems will need some development for a mission to Mars, which would need to feed astronauts for years at a time.
Our current propulsion technology poses a challenge to the food system for Mars, said Kloeris. From the six months it takes to get to Mars, to the 24-month stay, and six months of traveling back, the food needs to be pre-positioned, which means that it could be up to five to seven years old.
“We can make food that is safe to eat from a microbiological perspective, by using freeze drying, thermal stabilization,” Kloeris said. “You can stop the microbial growth, what you can't stop is the chemical changes that occur in the food.”
Over time, that quality will degrade. “And not in a good way,” said Kloeris. “Not like fine wine that gets better with age.”
Some of the nutrients in these foods will degrade with time, and that leaves scientists with the question of how to create a food system that will retain high-quality food and give astronauts the fuel to perform well even through the return flight.
Although it’ll take some time to develop food systems that will fight food degradation on Mars, the tried and true spicy and tangy shrimp cocktail will be here for us on our way to the red plant.
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