How Do Astronauts Eat Food in Space?
Eating and drinking food in space can be a challenge. Early astronauts struggled with bite-sized cubes of dried food, toothpaste tube-like dispensers and had to worry about catching food particles before they could get stuck in the equipment.
Advances in space food technology have helped to make eating food in space a bit easier as well as taste a bit better. Astronauts eat three meals a day with some snacks in between just as people do on the Earth.
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Storage
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All food and liquids are dehydrated before being loaded onto the shuttle or station. They are then stored in sealed packaging that can be punctured by a needle for injecting water (made by combining oxygen and hydrogen onboard) that rehydrate the packaged food.
Hydration and Preparation
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All the food packets are sealed to prevent moisture from getting in until the food is ready to be consumed. The packaging also prevents food particles from floating around the space shuttle.
Pre-measured amounts of hot or cold water are injected into the packaging to hydrate the food. Food that needs to be heated or cooked is placed into a specially designed forced air convection oven. The oven can heat up to 180 degrees F and can stay at 150 to 160 degrees F for a sustained period, according to NASA.
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Eating the Meal
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Eating the meal requires that the astronaut straps in to eat. The food items, after being hydrated and heated, are taken out of the packaging and strapped onto a special food tray that is strapped to the wall. This allows the astronauts to eat food with normal eating utensils and prevents their dinner food from floating away.
Liquids are consumed by inserting a special straw into the same spot that the hydration needle was injected into. A special clamp seals the straw when not in use.
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