Excerpts taken from NASA Facts-Space Food, NASA Human Spaceflight Space Facts, NASA FTCSC bookmarks, and NASA FTCSC Space Food Insights by Dr. Charles Bourland, and Vickie Kloeris.

1.a) Eating utensils were first used during the Apollo 8 mission to the moon on December 1968. Before that, food and beverages were either consumed through a straw or tube or were eaten by hand.

2. b) The top five foods that astronauts most often request in space are: 1. Shrimp cocktail, 2. lemonade, 3. steak, 4. M&M's, and 5. brownies.

3. b) On February 20, 1962, John Glenn ate applesauce from an aluminum tube and chewed on several small malted milk tablets, making him the first U.S. astronaut to eat in space.

4. c) All space food items come in disposable packaging, so astronauts do not need to wash any dishes except their utensils. They are simply wiped clean with a sanitizing wipe.

5. c) In 1981, M&M chocolate candies were chosen for the first time by the space shuttle astronauts for inclusion in their food supply.

6. True. Unlike previous space vehicles, Skylab featured a large interior with a dining room and table. Footholds allowed astronauts to "sit" at the table to eat. Skylab also had space for a freezer and refrigerator, which no other vehicle has offered before or since.

7. True. Weight can be conserved during launch by removing water from food. During flight, water generated by shuttle fuel cells is added back to the food before it is eaten.

8. d) Meals in the lunar module during Apollo 11 included Meal A- bacon squares, peaches, sugar cookie cubes, coffee, pineapple-grapefruit drink; and Meal B-beef stew, cream of chicken soup, date fruitcake, grape punch, and orange drink. Meal A was the first food scheduled to be eaten on the Moon.

9. b) Foods for a trip to Mars will need a minimum shelf life of three to five years. This is because a mission to Mars could last up to three years; including a six to eight month transit to Mars, an 18-month stay, and another six to eight months transit home.

10. True. Water temperature available for food preparation is different on Station than Shuttle. The space shuttle has chilled water. On the ISS there is no chilled water, crewmembers have only ambient, warm, and hot water available.

11. b) During a Gemini 3 flight, John Young presented Virgil (Gus) Grissom with a corned-beef sandwich he smuggled on board as a practical joke.

12. False. The bubbles of carbon dioxide in carbonated beverages aren't buoyant in a weightless environment so they remain randomly distributed throughout the fluid even after swallowing and can become a foamy mess during space travel. Experiments have been conducted using special microgravity dispensers for soda, but as yet they have not been perfected. Even if a microgravity dispenser is perfected, there is no guarantee that carbonated beverages will be used in space. In space, with the absence of microgravity, the carbon dioxide bubbles in carbonated beverages go through an astronaut's digestive system, rather than being belched out as on Earth, and may cause adverse side effects.

13) False. Food prepared for the ISS needs to be able to stay stable at room temperature for nine to 12 months because there is no refrigerator or freezer available. A refrigerator would take a good deal of power to run. Instead of using microwave ovens, food is heated in a forced-air convection oven for 20 minutes prior to eating.

14. c) Astronauts on the ISS follow the Russian schedule of eating three meals and one snack per day.

15. c) Astronauts have reported changes that vary from food not tasting the same on orbit to a complete dislike for a previously liked food or beverage. This is attributed to physiological alterations that occur in microgravity.

16. False. The U.S. and Russia each provide half of the food supplied for the ISS. Items from each country arrive at the station on separate pallets and are stored inside the same cabinet located in the Zvesda module. The Russian Space Agency primarily uses cans to preserve its food while NASA uses flexible foil packaging.

17. a) Skylab beverage containers looked similar to a plastic accordion.

18. False. Astronauts enjoy eating tortillas and find them a practical solution to a potentially messy situation. Crumbs, a byproduct of bread, can be inhaled, clog filtration systems, or jam delicate equipment in a closed, microgravity environment. Tortillas are practically crumb-free.

19. a) During a mission an astronaut consumes approximately 3 pounds of food per day. Because of this, an astronaut would need more than three thousand pounds of food for a three-year Mission to Mars.

20. False. Fresh foods have been in demand since early Shuttle days. They were first used on STS-6 in April 1983. Fresh fruits and vegetables are loaded on the spacecraft 16 to 24 hours prior to launch and on-orbit shelf life is two to three days for most items because there is no refrigerator. Fresh foods are also brought on Shuttle or Progress resupply flights at planned 90-day intervals.

21. c) The initial six day cycle menu used on Expedition 1 was too short to give sufficient variety. Beginning with Expedition 2, the menu cycle was expanded to eight days. The menu cycle was later increased to 10 days beginning with Expedition 8.

22. True. Freeze-dried foods are ideal for space travel because they are light weight, do not need refrigeration, and are contained in flexible packages that aid in trash compacting.

23. c) Because of limited space, Pettit chose only three Russian-made long-handled eating spoons as his precious cargo back to Earth.

24. False. Astronauts taste-test food prior to their launch and choose which foods they would like to eat on their flight.

25. False. Astronauts usually lose weight during space missions. Nutritionists carefully watch to ensure that they eat enough calories and receive necessary nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.

26. c) Because each food item comes in a separate package, scissors are the most important utensil required for eating in microgravity.

27. False. In the mid 1960s U.S. Army Natick Laboratories developed freeze-dried ice cream. The freeze-dried ice cream developed for space was not exactly what is sold today. To produce freeze-dried ice cream for space, a mixture of coconut fat,milk solids, and sugar was homogenized, frozen, then freeze-dried, ground and compressed into cubes under high pressure. The cubes were then coated with an edible gelatin coating to prevent crumbs. The product sold today is ice cream that has been cut into cubes and freeze-dried. Freeze-dried ice cream was taken into space only one time, in 1968 on Apollo 7 when astronauts Wally Schirra, Don Eisele, and Walter Cunningham tested the Earth orbit of the Apollo Command Module in preparation for the Moon Landing. Records are not available, but most of the product must have been returned, since this is the only time freeze-dried ice cream was used in space.

28. b) Expedition Two's Yury Usachev was unpacking food from a Progress resupply ship when he found some onions that had sprouted. He wrapped them in wet rags and sealed them in plastic bags until they were about a foot long. The plants bore onions which the crew harvested and enjoyed.

Web author: Regina Hendrickson rhendric@iastate.edu