The status and future prospects of the space foods

John Glenn, America's first man to eat anything in the near-weightless environment of Earth orbit, found the task of eating fairly easy. With improved packaging came improved food quality and menus. By the time of the Apollo Program, the quality and variety of food increased even further. Apollo astronauts were the first to have hot water, which made rehydrating foods easier and improved the food's taste. Thermostabilized pouches were also introduced on Apollo. The task of eating in space got a big boost in Skylab. It also had a food freezer and refrigerator a convenience offered by no other vehicle before or since. Two different food systems will be used for future long-duration missions to other planets, one for traveling to and from the distant body and one for use on the surface of the moon or Mars. The transit food system will be similar to the space station food system with the exception that products with three-to five-year shelf lives will be needed. Thus, this part of the trip will be similar to what occurs aboard space missions now. The surface food system, be it lunar or planetary, will be quite different. It will be similar to a vegetarian diet that someone could cook on Earth. Once crew members arrive on the surface and establish living quarters, they can start growing crops. Once the crops are processed into edible ingredients, cooking will be done in the spacecraft's galley to make the food items. Disposal of used food packaging will be an issue since there will be no Progress vehicles to send off and incinerate into the Earth's atmosphere. Packaging materials will be used that have less mass but sufficient barrier properties for oxygen and water to maintain shelf life as those now in use.

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