1. What’s for Launch? What will astronauts eat on a mission to Mars? Wallace E. Finn Comparative Planetology 3/12/09

2. Overview Who were the first Astronauts to eat in space? What are the food requirements for a mission to Mars? What do astronauts eat today aboard the space shuttle and International Space Station? a. Will astronauts be able to carry all their food with them? b. Will astronauts need to grow food on their trip? References *NASA Cornbread Dressing Recipe!

3. First Foods in Space Yuri A. Gagarin ate and drank in his single orbit around the Earth in Vostok 1 in 1961. John H. Glenn Jr. ate applesauce (remember Sir Isaac?) in his 3 orbit Mercury flight in 1962.

4. Two Basic Food Needs Exist for a Trip to Mars: One for traveling to and from the planet. (We will focus on this for now) Another for use on the surface of the planet.

5. “Transit” Foods for the Trip to the Planet. The current foods used in the international space station (ISS) and shuttle missions could be used for the mission to Mars. The only difference is that they will need to have a shelf life of 3-5 years.

6. Categories of Astronaut Food! They may pick from rehydratable, thermostabilized, irradiated and natural form items. Rehydratable items have less weight and can be mixed with water from the ships fuel cells!

7. Rehydratable Food List Soups like chicken consume, cream of mushroom. Casserole like macaroni and cheese, chicken and rice. Appetizers like shrimp cocktail. Breakfast foods like scrambled eggs and cereal. Cereals are packaged with dehydrated milk and sugar.

8. Thermostabilized Food Foods that are processed to kill microorganisms and enzymes. Fruits and fish such as tuna and salmon. Pudding. Beef tips with mushrooms. Tomatoes and egg plant. Chicken a la King and ham.

9. Natural Form Foods Nuts, granola bars and cookies, ready to eat!

10. Preparation Foods are individually packaged and stowed for easy handling. Precooked or processed requiring no refrigeration. Fresh foods are eaten within the first few days to avoid spoiling. Menus are made 5 months before a mission! Each astronauts food is affixed with a colored dot to identify whose it is.

11. Other Stuff! Condiments like catsup, mustard mayonnaise, taco sauce, hot pepper sauce. Pepper and salt in liquid form! Flour Tortillas instead of bread! (no crumbs). Beverages in powder form coffee, tea, apple cider, orange juice and lemonade.

12. What About Growing Their Own Food: “Astrofarmers” Weight and space limitations mean not all food could be carried. What’s an “astrogourmet” to do? Thanksgiving day meal Green beans with mushrooms, candied yams, cranapple dessert, *cornbread stuffing, smoked turkey. *See recipe at end!!!

13. Astronauts Could Grow Their Food on the Way! Silkworm larvae- Yummy! Can be grown en route. Plants could be grown using recycled water. Plants are fed to larvae. Can be processed into a number of items. More nutritious than pork and chicken! 170 silkworms and cocoons per day to provide protein!

14. Summary Astronauts eat food items that we eat. They are adapted to have long shelf lives. To have long shelf lives these foods may be dehydrated, canned or irradiated. Fresh foods are eaten but must be consumed in the first few days of flight. An extended mission in space would require that some food be “grown” on the way. Silkworms can produce the protein requirements needed.

15. NASA Cornbread Dressing Ingredients: 1. 12 Cups of cornbread. 2. 3 ¾ cups chicken broth 3. 2 ½ cups onions, chopped 4. 1 ½ cups celery chopped. 5. ¼ cup unsalted butter 6. 1 ¼ tsp poultry seasoning 7. Black pepper ¼ tsp. 8. Parsley flakes, dried 2 tsp. 9. Sage, rubbed 1tsp.

16. Directions: Preheat convection oven to 325 0 F. Grease 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Peel onions and puree in food processor. Finely chop celery in food processor, Add onion. Heat sauté pan over medium heat. Melt butter and sauté onion and celery mixture until soft. Add to crumbled, prepared cornbread. Mix well in a separate bowl, combine poultry seasoning, black pepper, parsley and sage. Add cornbread-sautéed vegetable mixture. Add chicken broth and mix. Spoon into prepared baking pan. Bake for 35 minutes at 325 0 -350 0 F.

17. For Space Flight Preparation Transfer baked dressing to metal tray and freeze-dry accordingly. One serving of cornbread dressing shall weigh approximately 145 g before freeze-drying and 50 g after freeze drying *Space flight food recipes are created using “formulations” instead of traditional recipes. Astronaut food is designed with significant flavoring to compensate for freeze-drying process.

18. References 1. “Astronauts Thanksgiving Meal” Image. Mixx 14Mar.2009,<http://www.mixx.com/photos/2911 /astronauts_Thanksgiving_meal> 2. Bombyx Mori Wikipedia Wikipedia.org 14 Mar. 2009 <http:// www.enwikipedia.org/wiki/silkworm “Eating Right for Long Distance Space Missions” NASA Image 14 Mar.2009<http://www.NASA.gov/centers/Johnson/newsrealeases/1999 _200/j01_69html. 3.“Space Food.” NASA Facts. October 2002. <http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/living/spacefood/index.html 4. Space Today Online <http://spacetoday.org/spcsht/s/astronautsEat.html

19. References Continued “Yum! Silkworms Could be the Next Astronaut Food” Discoblog Discover Magazine 14 Mar. 2009 <http://blogs.discovermagazine.com