Being an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for Thanksgiving might be strange, but at least the six astronauts there will have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, including turkey.
Of course, that turkey is freeze-dried and irradiated, and the side dishes feature thermostabilized candied yams, along with freeze-dried green beans and mushrooms. If that doesn't make your mouth water, don't forget the dressing, which is also freeze-dried, along with dessert, a thermostabilized cherry-blueberry cobbler.
So while you're indulging in food that hasn't been freeze-dried and irradiated, remember the six astronauts aboard the ISS having their Thanksgiving meal in space. The crew, known as Expedition 42, includes NASA Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore, NASA flight engineer Terry Virts and Russia's flight engineers Anton Shkaplerov, Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova. There's also the first Italian woman in space, the ESA's flight engineer Samantha Cristoforetti.
Why is food choice so restrictive in space? First, space foods need a long shelf life, as well as good packaging. Each item must also be small, but still offer a lot of nutrition. Messy foods are completely out, because then crumbs of stuff eaten weeks ago would float around in the zero-g compartments of the station. So that means that astronauts must skip the rolls, and any bread, for their Thanksgiving dinner.
Space food, has not, unfortunately, changed much in 30 years, since NASA's space shuttle program began. However, the agency is actively researching new ways to make food tastier and last longer, particularly for deep space missions, including those to Mars. The agency is also testing "real" food by using the station's laboratory for growing plants, such as fruits and vegetables.
In the future, though, one vegetable could be served fresh aboard the ISS. Research shows that the sweet potato grows well in a closed environment with fake sunlight.
However, regardless of the food situation, astronauts appreciate holidays and time spent together with their fellow astronauts.
"Whenever there's a holiday on the U.S. side, or if it was a crew member's birthday or anything like that or on the weekends, we'd get together," says NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio, who spent the 2013 holiday season on the ISS. "All six of us, including the three Russians, two Americans and Koichi, my Japanese crew mate, we'd get together once or twice a week and have dinner together and also on special occasions such as Christmas or Russian holidays."
[Photo Credit: NASA]
