Food. | Life Support Workgroup | Forum

Hello. I haven't been writing much, because I had no time, but I was tasting some dried foods and thinking about how would it be organized.

I came out with quite good idea when i was watching ISS meals time. They had many problems with eating. Messy and non stimulating.

I would propose that food should be made to be a bite size ball. Outside would be crispy and crunchy and inside filled with food that intended to be eaten. These balls could be stored in vacuumed bag. Just like that we reduce eating time, we make meals pleasurable and clean.

The alternative would include dried fruits, pastes, crackers. That would be practical, but non stimulating and a bit more messy.

This sounds like a fun project for someone's wife or girlfriend if you want to get them involved.

I guess the criteria would be:

• bite sized (small enough to easily chew without opening the mouth)
• no crumbs
• Slightly tacky outside so they stick together and don't fly out of the bag
• Suitably nutritious (not really that important on a 7 day mission, calories will be more important)
• Packing density (cubes not spheres)
• Caloric density (calories/gram)

This could also make a nice fundraiser if we were to sell "Moon Munchies" online. There might be (likely) some kind of law that prohibits unlicensed cooks/bakers from selling food.

Luke Maurits said:I find the crispy ball idea very interesting.  What sorts of food do you imagine the outsides and insides of the balls being made out of?

I have no details yet. It is more of an idea for now, but:

I was planning that I could use existing recepies, such as rice balls wich made out of rice and cheese. But there is limitless verity, using starch and baking or deep frying it, the surface become scrunchy. If you put something inside filling, cheese, even meat it can last longer and be tasty and stimulating.

Rocket-To-The-Moon said:

This sounds like a fun project for someone's wife or girlfriend if you want to get them involved.

I guess the criteria would be:

• bite sized (small enough to easily chew without opening the mouth)
• no crumbs
• Slightly tacky outside so they stick together and don't fly out of the bag
• Suitably nutritious (not really that important on a 7 day mission, calories will be more important)
• Packing density (cubes not spheres)
• Caloric density (calories/gram)

This could also make a nice fundraiser if we were to sell "Moon Munchies" online. There might be (likely) some kind of law that prohibits unlicensed cooks/bakers from selling food.

Great. I can see you recognize the potential.

I would avoid cubes, if they are a bit hard, the edges may hurt pallet. Additionally one packet would be a meal with several bites inside possibly verity of flavors and it would be calculated as a part of daily energy and nutrient requirement. They could be diced with natural colors to indicate what they consist of. (green-beans, red-meat etc…)

As I mentioned I used to work as a chef, I will try some recipes.

Luke Maurits said:

I just wanted to remind people that we should also be making it a design priority that the food be as low-residue as it can be without compromising the other design points.  The foods which have been mentioned so far are mostly okay for this, but there are caveats: rice must be white and not wholegrain, cheese must be mild and not strong, beans must not be dried and should probably have the skin removed.

A very good point. I think that it is highly possible to go for 7 days without a bowel movement given the right diet (to include pre-mission diet). A low-residue diet should also produce waste that is easy to deal with should the astronaut not be able to hold it.

Here is what Apollo used. It is a functional system and I don't really think that we should spend to much time and resources to pretty it up. The urine system seems overly complicated while the fecal system seems quite simple.

I will be able to put some real ides soon, hopefully next week.

As I mentioned before I would like to know about food storage and reheating methods. Any Ideas?

And I would like to assure that I am looking at the Low-residue guidelines and I understand how problematic can be stomach problem in space.

Cheers

I have completed a proposal to a food part of life support. I have considered many factors such as storage, reheating and most important nutritional value, but also satisfaction from meals.

This is just a draft, there is no quantities or details, recipes and dietary calculations, just few ideas. It is not a ISS food, but for short term mission should be sufficient. I strongly suggest some reheating method.

LIFE SUPPORT WORK GROUP

FOOD

by maciejm

Time of the mission: 7 days

Number of crew members: 6

Storage method: dried/processed/vacuum packed

Reheating method: Yet to be determined

Food supplies required during the 7 day mission would consist of the thermally preprocessed food with reduced humidity, fulfilling low residue requirements presented by CSTART. In the table below I have presented theoretical menu and food supplies for the time of the travel as well as additional emergency supplies that can be consumed in case of emergency extension of the mission. Volumes and detailed ingredients are yet to be determined.

I would recommend additionally to provide astronauts with food supplement (vitamins including vit. C, calcium and folic acid), to ensure nutritional requirements are matched.

I have designed a food to be a bite size and ready to consume, rehydration would be unnecessary. Satisfaction from meal would be ensured by providing variety of meals in interesting form and with different textures. Meals can be customised by exchanging ingredients to match personal preferences and dietary requirements, but pre seasoned.

Quality of food, and low risk of food poisoning would be a very high priority, therefore some preservatives must be added. Preservatives in thermal processed food, rapidly chilled and vacuum packed will reduce spoilage to minimum ensuring tasty and safe meals.

* Refers to bite size balls/cubes

^ Refers to bite size balls filled with second ingredient

# Refers to foods that require reheating

< Refers to food in tube

+ Refers to pre brewed beverage

Recipes, storage and reheating methods will be tested prior to flight.

I look for constructive comments and I will continue working on details of storage and recipes.