We probably all agree that people are curious beings and it is in their nature to want to explore various things. There are even people who devote their whole lives to exploration. Astronauts are one such group. They study and train hard so they can travel up there in space and try to resolve the questions of life in the universe. It is a slow and cumbersome process, but definitely worth doing for the general progress of humankind.
However, being an astronaut has its price. Astronauts have to confront many new challenges in space, such as microgravity or isolation, for example. Hence, in order to stay physically and psychologically healthy, there is a whole team of experts working on providing the necessary conditions, so astronauts could do their job as easily as possible.
Since eating is one the most important human needs, food is planned very carefully with all of the vitamins, minerals and calories that each crew member requires. It also needs to be spicy since the astronauts’ sense of smell is diminished as a result of low gravity. It all started with pureed meat that Yuri Gagarin and John Glenn ate from toothpaste tubes on their missions in the 1960’s. Nowadays, however, with fast technology development things have significantly improved around space food. The astronauts’ space food menu is more diverse and they are even starting to grow fresh vegetables up on the ISS.
The following infographic is a guide about how space food evolved over the years, what kind of preserving methods are used so food has longer shelf life, and how astronauts prepare their meals on their missions. It also includes a few fun facts that every space lover will find interesting. Take a look at it and find out what food challenges the astronauts face on their space missions.
