Thanksgiving means turkey dinner no matter where you are -- even if that's 260 miles above the Earth on the International Space Station (ISS) and the meal features "irradiated smoked turkey."
That's what was on the menu for American astronauts aboard the ISS, along with freeze-dried dressing, candied yams, green beans, mashed potatoes and mushrooms.
Oh, yes, and "thermostabilized blueberry cobbler."
The food was included in "bonus containers" astronauts take to the station with special food items for holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.
"Crew members often put special items in their bonus containers with the holidays," says Vickie Kloeris, ISS Food System Manager. "In the past crew members have taken cranberry sauce, frostings; they will decorate cookies for the holidays."
NASA astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Terry Virts are members of the current ISS Expedition crew along with flight engineers Anton Shkaplerov, Elena Serova and Alexander Samokutyaev of Russia's Roscosmos space agency and Italian flight engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency.
The astronauts took time out to record a video of their Thanksgiving greeting from the station.
Food on the ISS is mostly similar to what has been going into space since NASA began its Space Shuttle operations around 30 years ago.
Techniques such as irradiation and thermostabilizing have been developed to significantly extend shelf life of food, something that will be vital on future long-term, deep space voyages such as a trip to Mars.
Irradiation creates a stable, ready-to-eat food item such as the Thanksgiving turkey meat ideal for consumption in space, Kloeris says.
"So this product is ready to eat and they just warm it up and eat out of a packet with a fork," she says.
Beverages such as tea with lemon and sugar are in powdered form, which the astronauts rehydrate by adding water, she says.
ISS crew members consume about 4 pounds of food each day; the majority of the food need heating or rehydrating before it can be eaten.
"The challenge that we have is there are no dedicated freezers or refrigerators [on the ISS] so all of our food has to be shelf stable for a long time," Kloeris says.
Meals on the ISS often have an international flavor as crew members from different countries share the rations, she noted, although Thanksgiving retains a distinct American theme.
