WASHINGTON, Nov 24:
Scientists at NASA are developing a variety of food bars that astronauts onboard the Orion spacecraft can eat for breakfast during their travel beyond the Moon to explore deep space destinations.
When astronauts explore deep space destinations, they will need a robust diet to keep them healthy and sharp.
While crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) can choose from about 200 items for their meals and have the space to stow an array of options, feeding the crew on deep space missions presents several unique challenges that NASA scientists are working to tackle.
Orion has limited room inside it to accommodate the supplies and food astronauts will need during their missions.
Since flights to deep space will not rely on resupply spacecraft to deliver what astronauts need and dispose of trash, the Orion crew will have to take everything they need with them and bring it all back home.
Given the distances Orion will travel, teams also must limit Orion’s mass, since a heavier spacecraft requires more fuel and energy to propel it to its ultimate destination.
To help reduce the amount of supplies Orion will carry for its crew, scientists are developing a variety of food bars that astronauts can eat for breakfast during their spaceflight missions.
Food scientists determined that developing a single calorically dense breakfast substitution can help meet mass reduction requirements.
“We’ve taken a look at how to get some mass savings by reducing how we’re packaging and stowing what the crew would eat for breakfast for early Orion flights,” said Jessica Vos, deputy health and medical technical authority for Orion.
On Orion, the goal is to have a number of food bars to select from in a variety of flavours like orange cranberry or barbeque nut for their first meal of the day, reducing the amount of space and storage the breakfasts require. (PTI)
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