A Quest for Taste in Zero Gravity

Shane Kimbrough of NASA (left), Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) (middle) and Peggy Whitson of NASA (right) juggle some of the newly arrived fruit aboard the International Space Station. The fresh food was delivered on SpaceX’s 10th commercial resupply mission along with more than 5,600 pounds of supplies, science experiments and vehicle hardware. Photo Courtesy of Nasa Johnson Space Center
European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, Expedition 36 flight engineer, is pictured near food packages floating freely in the Unity node of the International Space Station. Photo Courtesy of Nasa Johnson Space Center
Once in space, astronauts rehydrate freeze-dried foods at a rehydration station that injects water into the package’s septum or valve through a needle. This valve has a small slit that allows the needle and water to go into the package but closes when the needle is withdrawn to prevent fluid from coming out of the package. Once the food is rehydrated, astronauts use scissors to cut open the package and eat directly from it. To drink, astronauts insert a straw into the septum. The straw can be clamped so that the drink doesn’t flow out of the pouch. Photo Courtesy of Nasa Johnson Space Center
Clay Anderson in space. Photo Courtesy of Nasa Johnson Space Center