Mercury Astronaut Food
The food that NASA's early astronauts had to eat in space is a testament to their fortitude. Mercury astronauts had to endure bite-sized cubes, freeze-dried powders, and semi-liquids stuffed into aluminum tubes. The freeze-dried food were hard to rehydrate, squeezing the tubes was understandably unappetizing, and the food was generally considered to be, like spaceflight, a test of endurance.
Skylab Food and TrayNASA
Gemini Missions
Astronaut food impoved somewhat on the Gemini missions. The first things to go were the squeeze tubes. Bite-sized cubes were coated with gelatin to reduce crumbling, and the freeze-dried foods were encased in a special plastic container to make reconstituting easier. With improved packaging came improved food quality and menus. Gemini astronauts had such food choices as shrimp cocktail, chicken and vegetables, butterscotch pudding, and apple sauce, and were able to select meal combinations themselves.
Apollo Program
By the time of the Apollo program, the quality and variety of food increased even further. Apollo astronauts were first to have hot water, which made rehydrating foods easier and improved the food's taste. These astronauts were also the first to use the "spoon bowl," a plastic container that could be opened and its contents eaten with a spoon.
Early 1970s
As Apollo began to wind down in the early 1970s, NASA began researching the most efficient ways to use unused spacecraft parts. Skylab, the first U.S. space station, converted the third stage of a Saturn V rocket to a living space for astronauts in long-duration missions. The three crews that occupied it from 1973-1974 enjoyed a series of upgrades, including a kitchen. It was so well-equipped that each crewmember could select his own menu from more than 70 different types of food and even heat their food using a warming tray. Crews could now enjoy comfort foods like ham, chili, mashed potatoes and ice cream.
Harvesting Plants aboard the ISS by NASANASA
Moon to Mars
Right now on the International Space Station, astronauts receive regular shipments of a wide variety of freeze-dried and prepackaged meals to cover their dietary needs – resupply missions keep them freshly stocked. When crews venture farther into space, feeding the crew presents several unique challenges that NASA scientists are working to tackle.In an effort to increase the ability to provide astronauts nutrients on long-duration missions as the agency plans to sustainably return to the Moon and move forward to Mars, plant experiments are underway aboard the International Space Station.
Moon to Mars
NASA’s Artemis program will return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2024, includingthe first woman and next man. With our goal of sending humans to Mars, Artemis is thefirst step to begin this next era of exploration.When astronauts venture farther into space, feeding the crew presents several uniquechallenges that NASA scientists are working to tackle. In an effort to increase the abilityto provide astronauts nutrients on long-duration missions as the agency plans tosustainably return to the Moon and move forward to Mars, plant experiments areunderway aboard the International Space Station.
Vegetable Production
The Vegetable Production System, known as Veggie, is a space garden residing on the space station. Veggie’s purpose is to help NASA study plant growth in microgravity, while adding fresh food to the astronauts’ diet and enhancing happiness and well-being on the orbiting laboratory.
Advanced Plant HabitatNASA
The Advanced Plant Habitat (APH), like Veggie, is a growth chamber on station for plant research. It uses LED lights and a porous clay substrate with controlled release fertilizer to deliver water, nutrients and oxygen to the plant roots.
Veg-PONDS-02
The Veg-PONDS-02 experiment, currently underway aboard the International Space Station, is testing a method to grow bigger plants in space. This new method uses units that are less expensive to produce, have more water holding capacity, provide a greater space for root growth and are a completely passive system—meaning PONDS can provide air and water to crops without extra power.
BioNutrients
A biology experiment called BioNutrients is testing a way to use microorganisms to produce nutrients – off Earth and on demand – that will be critical for human health in space. These nutrient packets are meant to be long-lasting supplements for astronaut food that may lose nutritional value for years-long missions.
Research like this will help NASA understand how to keep plants flourishing in space and better enable long-duration missions.
