The Mars Challenge: Making Space Chow

Scientists here presented prototypes of some of the first attempts at food preparation equipment for long-duration space missions.

R. Paul Singh, food engineering professor at University of California at Davis, showed the prototype for a fruit and vegetable processing system for advanced life support. It’s designed to process tomatoes—slicing, dicing, crushing, and juicing them for soup, sauce, and paste.

Ladies and gentlemen -- the Space Blender!

Sudhir K. Sastry, a professor of food engineering at Ohio State University, presented another prototype gadget for reheating and sterilization. The intriguing device is a food package equipped with electrodes that heat the packaged food. After an astronaut eats the food prepared in this container, the same package is used to sterilize bodily waste and store it until it can be jettisoned.

Kids: don't try this with the TupperWare.

In time, Pershonok expects NASA will send astronauts to an isolation facility in a place such as Antarctica and test the psychological impact of different food systems—basically, comparing and contrasting a dull diet against one that includes comfort food like fresh bread and pasta.

Hmm...I think I know where they could find a set of guinea pigs lab rats test subjects.

Of course, if it's comfort food they want, why not just make a quick trip to Wal-Mars?

Posted by T.L. James on July 30, 2004 11:13 AM