Scientific nutrition menu
In order to save the space of spacecraft, the space food carried by astronauts must be as light, small, nutritious and residue-free as possible. Food must meet the requirements of astronauts' physiological changes under weightlessness. Space flight leads to the loss of bone calcium, muscle atrophy and decrease of red blood cells in astronauts. Therefore, food should be aimed at the changes of human metabolism and physiological functions that may be caused by weightlessness, including protein, fat and various trace elements in food. Although China's manned space mission is not long, and the change of astronauts' physiological state does not require too much food ingredients, it is all designed according to long-term flight.
Space food is no longer boring.
Early space food was a bit boring, but now it is extremely rich. The food on the International Space Station can be guaranteed not to be repeated for six days. The typical recipes for astronauts' three meals a day are: breakfast: orange juice, peaches, sausages, cocoa, scrambled eggs and sweet bread; Lunch: cream mushroom soup, ham and cheese sandwich, stewed tomatoes, bananas and biscuits; Dinner: shrimp, fried steak, broccoli, strawberries, pudding and cocoa.
Astronauts can also get some favorite condiments, such as tomato sauce, mustard and mayonnaise, as well as liquid salt and pepper, because astronauts can't sprinkle salt or pepper on food in space. In weightlessness, these powders will fly everywhere, which may block ventilation holes or pollute equipment, and may also fly into astronauts' eyes, mouths or noses.
After continuous improvement, European and American astronauts can eat with ordinary spoons and forks, because the tableware is fixed on the table, and the food will not fly away from the plate by its own viscosity.
The most popular space food
1, sugarcoated chocolate beans
In the zero-gravity environment in space, astronauts eat chocolate beans just like Pac-Man. This sugar-coated chocolate bean floats in zero gravity in space, and the hard sugar-coated shell and the entrance of the chocolate bean melt instantly.
2. Frozen dehydrated ice cream
The ice cream tasted in space is not a cold feeling, but a food similar to dry powder. This frozen and dehydrated ice cream will melt in the mouth of astronauts, and it can also make astronauts feel the taste of ice cream. In fact, however, neither the Space Shuttle nor the International Space Station is equipped with a cooling device to refrigerate this ice cream, and astronauts can only taste this ice cream when they just leave the ground.
3. Spicy mung beans
Astronauts also like to eat spicy mung beans, especially its spicy taste. This kind of space food is not a delicious mung bean that can be made at home. It has become the main food on the astronaut's menu.
4. tomatoes
In recent years, NASA has often sent millions of plant seeds into space, and tomatoes are usually the most popular. It is said that tomato seeds in space have a unique taste and will be more delicious when planted on the ground.
Convenient and concise space meal
The astronaut's menu is very rich, with more than 20 kinds of food to choose from. As usual, they are specially made into pieces of "compressed bricks" or "toothpaste tubes". When they are eaten, they must be mixed with a certain proportion of water to restore the food to its original state. It is said that these space foods are not only nutritious, but also the design of breakfast, lunch and dinner is very scientific. After eating these foods, the ground crew all reported that they tasted good.
In the early space flight of the former Soviet Union and the United States, specially treated liquid or semi-solid food was packed in a container similar to a toothpaste tube. When astronauts eat, they suck food directly into their mouths through the catheter. Nowadays, with the application of new packaging materials and new technologies, astronauts' diet is getting closer to the ground. Space food in China is usually made into rectangular and spherical shapes, such as sliced meat, fish and snacks. The surface is coated with an edible protective film. Astronauts eat one piece at a time, which is convenient and concise, and will not drop crumbs, which can prevent food debris from floating in the cabin.