How astronauts eat in space, some interesting facts

 How astronauts eat in space, some interesting facts.

Apollo's multi-day mission meant good and special food for the astronauts, but how do you cook in space with no stove or hot water?

170 grams: the weight of meat or fish eaten by astronauts for breakfast

All astronauts since Alan Shepard in 1961 have been given a healthy breakfast before going into space.

Before the flight of the Apollo missions, all meals were prepared on a nutritional and caloric basis, with the greatest care being taken to be a low-fiber diet so that they would not need to go to the toilet too soon after the flight. .

Before space missions, coffee intake was reduced before lunch because of its diuretic properties.

For example, Shepard's main flight was only 15 minutes long, so doctors thought he could hold his urine until the space plane landed. Unfortunately, they did not take into account the delay in starting the countdown.

Correspondent Jay Barbee, who commented on the mission for NBC's USTV channel, said: 'They put Alan Shepard directly into the rocket with no way to urinate. After two hours they started complaining and impatiently asking for permission to wet their clothes, finally they gave permission.'

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During the flight, astronauts on the Apollo spacecraft used condom-like objects to collect their urine, which was connected to a disposal system that ejected the material from a port in the side of the spacecraft.

A plastic bag is used for defecation, but most astronauts try to block the toilet as much as possible. Astronaut Walt Kingham was the first to become incontinent during the Apollo 7 mission.

He said: 'It is very difficult to get everything right. You can grab everything but then some of the pills open up in the bag and you spend your time mixing the pills with whatever you have in there. This is no joke.'

2800 grams: Daily calorie intake

 During their five-hour flight, they ate apple pulp from a toothpaste-like tube, proving that humans can swallow and digest food in weightlessness.

A 2,500-calorie-a-day diet for astronauts on the two-man Gemini mission in the mid-1960s was produced by the household goods company Whirlpool as a frozen and dried diet in plastic packs. .

Teaching by freezing involves cooking. In this, the food is rapidly frozen and then slowly heated in an air-free chamber to remove the layer of ice that has formed during freezing.

Astronauts use a fountain to soak food and then knead it into a dough. These meals were tastier than those inside the main mission tube and consisted of beef and broth, but the water was cold, making them unappetizing.

During the first Gemini mission, Gemini 3, in 1965, astronaut John Young caused a small scandal that remains the only blemish on his stellar astronaut career. He secretly kept a corned beef sandwich with him during this mission. What started as a joke ended up with serious problems for the aircraft and there were fears that its blades might affect the aircraft's circuit system.

During the Apollo missions, when the astronauts began some limited exercise in space and began to tire themselves out, nutritionists at NASA increased the calorie intake to 2,800.

Not only was the food more palatable, but the water they were getting from the plane's fuel cells via water guns was both cold and hot. And not only was food sucked through a straw, astronauts could also eat certain foods with a spoon.

Six: Packs of pineapple fruitcake

The pantry of the Apollo spacecraft would have been filled with snacks. It consisted of six pieces of pineapple fruitcake, packets of brownies, chocolate cake and jelly fruit candies. There were cheese crackers and BBQ beef bites for a fun or crunchy taste. Apollo astronauts were also allowed 15 packs of chewing gum, each containing four chewing gums.

During the Apollo 17 mission chicken and rice were followed by typical dinners such as butterscotch pudding (halwa) and 'graham cracker cubes'. They could eat it right away with coffee, tea, coke or lemonade.

After the Apollo 15 mission, the less popular nutrient-filled food sticks, which were the forerunners of today's nutritional ole bars, were introduced with a water tube attached to the front of the astronaut's helmet during the moonwalk. And on the surface of the moon they were for food for a period longer than their appointed time.

Almost all astronauts lost weight during the mission, despite a varied diet and high calorie intake. Neil Armstrong lost four kilograms during the Apollo 11 flight. Commander Jim Lovell lost six kilograms during the Apollo 13 mission, partly due to dehydration due to the water restriction.

Space food continues to improve with Apollo. Today's astronauts eat a normal diet in space, but they crave fresh fruits and vegetables, which they get when their ships leave the space station.

Zero: Brandy sipped

On Christmas Day 1968, the Apollo 8 astronauts were on their way back from the moon. Astronaut Corps Deke Slayton had a special surprise packet on his head that contained a complete Christmas meal with full turkey broth and cranberry sauce and no soaking.

Mission Commander Frank Borman said: "This was a new type of food packaging that we had not experienced before." We had our best meal on the flight during Christmas Day. I especially liked the turkey, the broth and all the works.'

But Stylen had more surprises for us. 'He had hidden three shots of brandy for all of us,' said Borman. But we did not drink them.'

He added: 'If anything went wrong, it would have been blamed on Brandi. So we brought him home. I don't know what happened to my brandy. She might be worth a lot more now.'

Alcohol has been drunk in space, but the Russians did, and mostly in small amounts, and that too during their early space station days. However, it is prohibited in the International Space Station. Even a small amount of it can disrupt the complex system of receiving water in the station. This system is based on the sweat and urine of astronauts.

15: The Apollo 11 crew ate microwaved meals

Prepared food is probably not high on the long list of human welfare space programs. But without Apollo, the invention of the microwave oven, which is an integral part of our kitchens today, would not have been possible as a means of heating up ready-to-eat meals for millions of people.

When Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldren and Michael Collins returned from the moon, they were kept in the USS Hornet's Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) for a few days to protect the world from possible lunar bugs. could At least the MQF had cushioned chairs, a toilet and a shower, but no cooking facilities.

With no space for a traditional stove or grill and minimizing the risk of fire, NASA tried to come up with a unique solution.

Hornet trustee Bob Fish says: 'It was the original microwave equivalent that was developed for the Apollo program' and it is now preserved in an Oklahoma museum in California.