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Food in outer orbit

1

What problems does it hold and how have NASA's scientists perfected it?

Gage Simpson

Fall semester 2017

The Mercury Project

The mercury Project was one of the most important missions NASA has ever executed. The mission was to see if man you function properly in space and act roughly as though he were back here on earth. There were seven astronauts that entered space during the Mercury Project, all at various level and tasked with varying problem. One of the many trivial task done by the astronauts was eating. John Glenn, an Astronaut aboard the Friendship 7 was asked to eat the NASA designated ration and see if it was similar to earth. Keep in mind, the idea of eating in space was theoretically sound and plossible, but everyone was unsure until it was actually documented. John Glenn could have very easily been the first person to ever choke in space.

Eating

Eating in space

With John Glenn setting a presidence, NASA then came to the realization that traditional food posed an increadible risk to the plethora of machices that kept him alive. Eating is a messy thing not matter how hard you try to contain it, some thing are just gonna end up getting places whether we want them to or not. A piece of bread, without realizing it, shed many hundreds of crumbs during its consumption. These crumbs which we typically sweep off the table or off out shirts, are suspended in the weightlessness of space. As they float and get pushed, it's incredibly easy for them to wedge themselves in any manner of places. From the console of the pod, to the air duct that keep the vessel oxygenated; bread can easily take down the inner working of a spacecraft without anyone being even in the slightest aware of it. NASA had to come up with a way to contain the potentially destructive debris.

Drinking

Drinking in weightlessness

The problems faced for drinking in space are pretty straight forward. Liquid is very mobile and messy even on earth if one is not careful. Water being the most important essence of life, became one of the most destructive force that NASA and the astronauts faced. While water is 100% necessary to living, the cost of sending even a small amount is astronamical in propertion. Not only is the price high, but so is the risk. Crumbs aren't seen as a typical enemy to the average computer, but water is one of the most destructive substances to electronical devices. Not only are the electronics aboard spacecraft vital for the occupants survival, but you've also given water and other fluids even more manoeuvrability, it's now able to fly just as fast as you are. It's essentually giving a spair scissors wings, ready to completely sever your ability to get home. NASA engineers had a pretty good idea as to how to contain water, roughly how we do it here on earth, but storage and weight were still huge a problem.

How they figured it out

The mess of food was a priority for the engineers of NASA and were quickly looked into. The first attempts were valiant and in good spirits but the sheer palatability was greatly in question for the astronauts. In the begining, food was purely focused on the functionality rather that the form. Food was by definition edible, but left a bad impression on its consumers.

Main dishes and general foods

Since the imfamous crumb was high on the list of potential dangers, researchers looked at ways of avoiding them all together and how to reduce them in what they sent. Gelatin coated food were an 'interesting' solution to this problem. Things such as breads, desserts, confections, and various other snack were lined with a very thin, yet noticable, layer of gelatin to reduce the debris caused by someone taking a bite. The astronauts immediatley found this texture and... mouth feel to be extremely unpleasant and off-putting.

The packaging of water

With water bottles and cans being completely out of the question, scientists had to come up with a way to get water into space safely and cheaply. Considering water is always gonna be the same exact weight, they had only one choice but to modify how it was packaged. They ended up using a straw-bag water container, similar to a caprisun but the straw isn't able to be removed or shoot throught back and spill it everywhere. These water bladders were flexable and durable as well as only dispencing water when needed. It remains roughly the same today.

Current day

While the storing of water has stayed pretty much the same all throughout NASA's developments, food has very much surged in both nutritional value and appeal. Where bread would have been sent, they now use tortillas as they are incredble easy to send in bulk and shed almost not crumbs. The previously squeeze-tube foods that older astronauts had to suffer through have now changed into freeze-dried meals that are easy to reconsitute and quite healthy, comparatively. Although incredibly expensive, astronaut families are able to send food to the space station as treats and gifts, but these are still subject to space and money restraints.

The cost of space cuisine

As one would imagine, firing food into he outer reaches of our atmosphere and into space has quite a heavy bill attached to it. For every pound that is shot into orbit, it costs $10,000 in fuel. The $10,000 doesnt even take into count to rocket transporting the food, that in total is around $500,000. The cost of food is what makes machines like the freeze-driers incredibly important to the continuation of space missions. Water is one of the most expensive items to be sent, it cant be changed in any way to make it any cheaper and must but sent everytime. Fresh fruits are something of a treasure in space, considering they greatly consist of water and are needed both for nutrition and moral. Fruits are sent in small bags containing 3-4 whole oranges or apples per trip.

Food for the future

With deadly bread crumbs and and killer water sphere whizzing by, the occupation of an astronaut is incredibly tough, but it has been made infinitely better by enjoyable and palatable meals by comparison to what has been. While they float around drink water out of bags and fighting over the last orange for the month, we can sit here under the crushing weight of gravity and realize how nice it is to have to not spend $10,000 on a water bottle and crunch away at our almost endless supply of fresh fruits and vegetables and hope to god one of the hundred of shuttles we've launch doesnt come back down and ruin our day.

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