How Do Astronauts Cook In Space?
How Do Astronauts Cook In Space?
Sources at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum explain that astronauts primarily consume prepared meals, which fall under three categories: freeze-dried, refrigerated, and canned. These meals prioritize being lightweight, compact, tasty, nutritious, and shelf-stable without refrigeration.
In the case of freeze-dried foods, astronauts employ a hydration gun, also known as a water gun, to prepare the food for consumption. Freeze-dried food is first prepared, quickly frozen, and then placed in a vacuum chamber to eliminate all moisture.
Astronauts consume refrigerated and canned foods by heating meals wrapped in foil, which are labelled with a specific consumption date.
The challenges of cooking in space?
BBC reports that cooking in space presents a significant challenge due to the absence of convection, a heat transfer mechanism commonly used for preparing food and drinks that facilitates even heating throughout.
The inability to use convection heating makes it impossible to prepare a piping hot cup of coffee. Nevertheless, astronauts can mitigate the issue by stirring their coffee with a spoon, ensuring it is not completely cold.
The lack of convection also poses a challenge for deep frying, as the fluidity of oil cannot be fully heated for cooking. Furthermore, boiling and heating water also present a challenge due to the absence of convection.
Some astronauts have found ingenious ways to cope with cooking in zero Gravity.
Sandra Magnus got creative with duct tape and a plastic bag. You can find her experiements here:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition18/journal_sandra_magnus_7.html
