Thanksgiving in space

The astronauts aboard the International Space Station recently shared Thanksgiving greetings from space. They’ll be enjoying green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cornbread dressing, macaroni and cheese, and of course turkey.  They’ll even have canned cranberry sauce which astronaut Drew Morgan prefers stay in its canned form.

Space food is prepared for months of sitting on a shelf on Earth before the launch and then for a few more months during long mission through some of the same methods as food you can buy for camping.

reciBefore traveling to the space station, NASA astronauts visit the Food Systems Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.  They sample 20-30 items ranking them for appearance, texture and of course taste.  Their favorites go on to a NASA dietitian who plans out meals to ensure they contain the right amount of nutrients, which is a bit different for astronauts. Your body doesn’t make as many red blood cells and doesn’t need as much iron as a result. You do need more calcium to help keep bones healthy in microgravity.

Also look for the 4 story tall Astronaut Snoopy in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, if winds dont keep the balloons grounded this year

NASA also shared the cornbread stuffing recipe astronauts enjoy aboard station.  It may require some adjustment back here on the ground because it makes about 15 servings and is heavily seasoned to compensate for the dulled sense of taste reported by astronauts.

Category: ALL POSTS, Spacey Stuff