A flight into space is so fascinating that you forget easily that astronauts have to satisfy normal basic needs up there, just like we do on Earth. This includes food and drink, of course, like the crew of Mission STS-110. Food in space has evolved enormously over the decades.
During the first manned space program in the USA, Mercury, the astronauts squirted the food from the tube into their mouths – not very appetizing. Those who followed the Gemini program had more choices. For example, they got sandwiches with chicken (centre of the picture, below the tubes), chocolate (far left of the picture) and pineapple cake (right below the sandwich).
The culinary diversity was even greater during the Apollo programme, which was the first and so far the last human visit on the Moon. For the first time, the astronauts had hot water to prepare the freeze-dried food. In addition, they now also received food in plastic containers, which they could eat with a spoon. An example is the banana pudding on the left of the picture.
At the Skylab space station, the astronauts were already able to eat at a table with a knife, fork and spoon. 72 different foods were available and there was a freezer and refrigerator on board.
During the ASTP mission, there was food for the American astronauts, like the Apollo missions. The Russians also had space food in tubes, which Stafford (left) and Deke Slayton (right) hold in their hands. This space food in tubes was later also available on the MIR space station.
Since the Space Shuttle era, astronauts eat almost as they are used to on Earth. Most of these foods can also be found in any supermarket. However, we don’t have to strap our food on a tray at home and macaroni baked with cheese (the yellow bag in the picture) look more appetizing on the home plate.
Many of the astronauts foods are freeze-dried to keep them fresh – including the among astronauts popular macaroni and the shrimp cocktail (middle of the image).
Products that are inherently durable are shrink-wrapped without pre-treatment. These include almonds, peanuts in a chocolate coat, cereal bars or seasonings such as mustard or mayonnaise. Salt and pepper would float away in weightlessness. That’s why the astronauts consume them in liquid form: salt dissolved in water and pepper suspended in oil (in the picture the two vials at the top right).
Astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Sandra Magnus with fresh fruit on the middle deck of Space Shuttle Endeavor during the STS-126 mission. However, these fruits had to be eaten at the beginning of the mission because of their limited shelf life. This image was taken on the third day of the STS-126 mission on November 16, 2008.
When you see these unattractive food packages for the International Space Station (ISS), you can imagine the astronauts joy about those apples and pears.
Of course, drinking enough is also important in space. The astronauts have no restrictions here: they have a choice of everything from coffee and tea to fruit juice drinks.
