Probably every boy in his childhood dreamed of becoming an astronaut, flying to distant stars and founding a colony on Mars. As adults, these guys acquire different professions, but it is unlikely that there will be someone among them who would not want to know what food of astronauts is.
Space Station Life
Some people still realize their childhood dreams and get jobs on the ISS. Formally, everyone can become an astronaut, and not just a military pilot, as before. The determining factor is a state of health that allows you to withstand overload and maintain the presence of mind in difficult conditions. Now the space tourism industry has begun to develop , that is, even a person completely far from science can get to the ISS simply by paying the appropriate amount. In general, this is also a way to fulfill a childhood dream.
The main difficulty for people in space is that in a state of zero gravity it becomes very difficult to perform some seemingly simple and familiar actions. Eating, sleeping, writing a note, combing, brushing your teeth - all this turns into a non-trivial task.
Habitual actions
A series of entertaining videos about how complicated the life of astronauts was made and posted on the popular Youtube resource by Canadian Chris Hadfield, who worked on the ISS in 2012-2013. In particular, he touched upon the unusual nature of such actions as shaving, cooking, sleeping, brushing teeth, playing the guitar, washing hands, cutting nails, etc., if all this happens in space. Thousands of fans gained his channel, and in the wake of this success, Samantha Cristoforetti shot a similar video, demonstrating how astronauts wash their hair and take a shower. All this looks very unusual and funny, because it is difficult for earthlings to understand what it is like to live in zero gravity.
Sleep
The ISS consists of several compartments, but these are not rooms, as in an ordinary house. Most of the space is occupied by equipment, so there is simply nowhere to arrange several bedrooms. The astronauts have a special compartment where there are nooks in which their sleeping bags float . Climbing inside, they fasten the zipper and simply fall asleep. As they themselves admit, at first the fact that you don’t have to lay your head on a pillow is very unusual, but then it becomes commonplace.
Nutrition
But this is the most interesting. All liquids in zero gravity take the form of a ball. And from any touch they can scatter into thousands of small bubbles, which then have to be caught with a vacuum cleaner. Therefore, from the very beginning the nutrition of the astronauts was a non-trivial task. However, through the efforts of many scientists around the world, it was solved, and the result even received some development over five decades. So, what is the name of the food of the astronauts and what is it like now?
Most imagine her as an unappetizing slurry in tubes, which are the dream of any boy and some adults. But this is not too relevant for the present. Researchers quite successfully make sandwiches from special bread, which does not crumble, in zero gravity conditions. Canned food and products dried with the help of special technology also need to be diluted before use with water. This is done in order to reduce the mass of food and its volume, because the delivery of each kilogram of cargo costs 5-10 thousand dollars. At the same time, quality and taste characteristics do not suffer at all. For a long time, almost 70% of the menu of American cosmonauts consisted of semi-finished products, now there are fewer of them, and all the same freeze-dried products came to replace .
But some scientists still prefer to take their favorite delicacies with them - if not openly, then at least secretly. They do not always succeed in this. Although, when the Japanese worked in space, they ate according to their usual menu: sushi, green tea, noodle soup, etc. The French took truffles into orbit, and one even wanted to bring with them blue cheese, but he not allowed to do, fearing that it would violate the biological situation at the station. But, fortunately, the food of astronauts in tubes is not the only thing that is available today to modern conquerors of the universe. The ISS constantly has fresh fruits and vegetables, and in case of special requests you can always ask to deliver something tasty. True, tea is a problem - it is not always possible to obtain it.
Diet
Scientists on the ISS need to eat in a special way, because they experience such loads that are unfamiliar to those who live in gravity. The body is being rebuilt, and its needs are changing. In addition, the food for them should be balanced, varied and tasty, as well as convenient for consumption in such unusual conditions.
This task first became relevant before the flight of Gagarin in 1961. And then a separate laboratory was established at the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the task of which was to eat astronauts in space. It still works and for half a century has taken a big step forward.
The first food in tubes was Yuri Gagarin himself. He had meat and chocolate, previously tested by pilots. The second was Herman Titov, who had meals in space three times. His menu consisted of pate, soup and compote. And he, returning to earth, admitted that he felt weak from hunger.
Then scientists thought not only about the form, but also about the content: the food should be simple, sufficiently satisfying and high-calorie, well absorbed by the body, but at the same time tasty and varied. Now in Russia about 250 names of products are prepared that are prepared for use in zero gravity, so that, one might say, the problem is solved, the menu can compare with what the best restaurants offer. Moreover, all products are additionally enriched with calcium, since life in space adversely affects bone tissue and the musculoskeletal system.
How does food get to the ISS?
Modern missions are quite long. Often astronauts spend in orbit for about a year, but there is simply nowhere to store reserves for all this time on the ISS. Fortunately, a shuttle regularly arrives at the station, delivering payloads, taking something to the ground, and sometimes taking researchers home, bringing in new ones.
So, a few months ago, after the unsuccessful launch of several Russian missiles launched from Baikonur, the astronauts began to run out of food supplies. Of course, the situation was not critical, and later food was delivered to them.
Menu of the future
Considering NASA’s grandiose plans, in the foreseeable future to send an expedition to Mars for its colonization, now the issue of not preparing food on Earth, but its cultivation in space, is becoming primarily relevant. Researchers at the ISS are also working on this task. Well, the technology by which food is prepared for the astronauts, at the moment, seems to have reached its ceiling. Even cottage cheese is dehydrated, which is in great demand among the inhabitants of the International Space Station , because even after processing it does not lose its taste.
Where to try?
Cosmonaut food for children and adults interested in this issue has recently been available. There are 11 dishes to choose from, the price of one tube is 300 rubles. All food is completely natural, does not contain flavor enhancers, preservatives and GMOs, which, due to some features, cannot be contained in principle by food for astronauts. At VDNH, which has regained its old name, around February, it appeared on sale. In the legendary pavilion No. 32, you can buy a set of "Cosmonaut's Food", in which there will be tubes with first, second courses or desserts. According to the organizers of the exhibition, all the food is completely authentic to the one that the researchers take with them on the ISS. It is planned that soon there will also be vending machines for the sale of this food - it is in such demand. Perhaps the menu will expand too.