What food do they eat in space?
Astronauts have a variety of food to choose from in space. A lot of the food is freeze-dried or dehydrated to make it last a long time, but they do also have some fresh food.
Astronauts have three meals per day. Nutrition is very important and a team of specialists on Earth make sure astronauts are eating everything they need to stay healthy.
Here are some examples of space food:
- Pre-prepared meals, similar to what you might buy at the supermarket.
- Dehydrated scrambled eggs.
- Fruit and nuts.
- Snacks including candy, biscuits (cookies).
- Sandwiches made from bread that doesn't create crumbs.
- Spreads such as peanut butter.
Drinks include coffee, tea, fruit juice and water. Carbonated beverages (fizzy drinks or soda) are not a good idea in space, as the bubbles of CO2 don't separate and will remain distributed throughout the liquid. This can cause complications for the astronaut as the drink passes through the digestive system, especially as you can't easily burp the gas out when you're in micro-gravity.
What is space food like?
It's getting better. In the early days of spaceflight, the food wasn't great. For many years on the International Space Station, astronauts were largely limited to dehydrated and other pre-prepared meals that focused on nutrition rather than enjoyment. However, nutritionists are aware that people need to enjoy their meals. These days, the food is pretty much as good as what you're expect here on Earth. Maybe not restaurant quality, but good enough to enjoy.