This Contingency Feeding System, carried on Apollo 11, would have allowed an astronaut to eat liquid foods through a small port of his helmet in case of an emergency. Gemini spacecraft provided only cold water, so all re-hydrated foods on those missions were eaten cold. Additionally, a more sophisticated water system provided both hot and cold water for the preparation of food. Once the food was rehydrated, the top of the pouch could be torn off and food scooped out easily. Rapp also develop a special spoon bowl so astronauts’ experience of eating in microgravity was more reminiscent of eating on Earth. During Gemini 3, John Young surprised fellow astronaut Virgil Grissom with a corned beef sandwich on rye he purchased at a delicatessen.īy the time of the Apollo program, space food was getting more sophisticated … and better tasting, largely due to the work of Rita Rapp and her team. Rapp worked closely with astronauts to create recipes that appealed to their preferences. However, Gemini astronauts didn’t always follow the rules. This Typical Gemini meal includes a beef sandwich, strawberry cereal cubes, peaches, and beef and gravy. After cutting the package open with scissors, the meal was then ready to eat. A freeze-dried meal would be rehydrated using a water gun to inject cold water into the package. The items are then vacuum-packed in four-ply laminated containers with a water valve at one end. Freeze-dried foods are prepared by quick-freezing cooked items, which are then placed in a vacuum chamber where they are heated to remove all water.
On-board hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells provided a source of water that could be used to moisten dehydrated or freeze-dried foods. While Glenn and the other Mercury astronauts experienced no problems in chewing, drinking, swallowing, or digesting, the food was not considered very enjoyable.Īs our human spaceflight missions advanced in their complexity, so too did the food.ĭehydrated, freeze-dried, and bite-sized foods, coated with gelatin or oil to prevent crumbling, were introduced during Project Gemini. Much of it was rather tasteless foods mashed up and packed into tubes to be sucked up through a straw. Space food prepared during the Mercury program of the early 1960s was based on the same research done to develop Army survival rations. They must also keep for long periods without refrigeration. (Smithsonian Institution)įoods taken into space must be light-weight, compact, tasty and nutritious. Space food for the Mercury missions was placed in tube form to enable the astronauts to squeeze it directly into their mouths. Add a little hot water and they can barely believe that they are actually hundreds of miles above the Earth and not in their own kitchens.This space food package containing pureed beef and vegetables was issued to John Glenn for consumption during his Friendship 7 flight in February 1962. They are not eating mysterious concoctions that don’t even resemble food, but a variety of meals prepared on Earth. Almost all foods can be freeze dried, giving astronauts an astonishing array of food items to choose from. In fact, every manned mission ever launched by NASA has carried some freeze-dried food.įreeze-dried food is perfect for space since it is lightweight, resistant to spoilage, high in nutrition, easy to prepare, and loaded with flavor. The first meal ever eaten on the surface of the moon, by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, included freeze-dried bacon and peaches. While in all likelihood freeze-dried ice cream never actually made it to space, NASA has extensively used the process of freeze drying to make space mission meals. Most likely, the first thing your average person thinks of if you mention freeze-dried food is astronaut ice cream.
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