…and you thought that the meal they served on your last flight was gross!
Michele Perchonok, who manages not only NASA’s advanced food technology program, but also the development and preparation of foods for Shuttle astronauts says that the food sent to space would not be edible or contain and nutrients after a year.
Foods destined for Space Shuttle missions must have a shelf life of a year, and 18 months if they’ll be deployed on the International Space Station. Of the roughly 65 foods currently available for stocking spacecraft and deemed really palatable by NASA taste panels, 10 will lose their appeal within a year — turning off-color, mushy or tasteless, she reported. By the end of five years, Perchonok says, “we’re down to seven items.”
This causes a problem if NASA wants to load up for a mission to Mars. This is why NASA’s goal is to create food that can be stocked for up to 5 years.
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