NASA seeks cooks for Mars trip simulation NASA is looking for volunteers to prepare foods during a simulated Mars mission that will see six lucky people locked in close proximity for 120 days. Researchers from the University of Hawaii and Cornell University are looking for volunteers for the simulation, dubbed the Hawaii Space Exploration Analogue & Simulation (HI- …
Seriously, there isn't any food as flexible as beans & lentils. They store well, and along with rice form a complete protein.
Me, I add a little epazote to the beans when cooking. Adds flavo(u)r and cuts[1] the flatulence. It could be grown on board (it is a weed, after all), but it stores well when dried. I just checked some I dried about six and a half years ago, and it's still fairly pungent.
No, I'm not vegan or vegetarian; I love a good rare steak ... but given the choice of freeze-dried animal protein or beans, I'll take the beans, TYVM.
Living without cabbage would be a trifle easier, but still not fun.
[1] Pun intended ;-)
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Rather than complicating things by trying to provide interesting and varied menus just employ the right astronauts. They already test for everything else so why not just make sure the Astronauts are fine with eating the same bland food ad infinitum. I have porridge for breakfast, a ham & lettuce sandwich with an apple and orange for lunch every day and have done for many, many years. I have no sense of smell so food all tastes much of a muchness. I eat for nutrition and by having the same thing every day I don't need to spend time thinking about what I'll eat.
If NASA just employed a bunch of freaks like me (or, better still, employed me) they could save a fortune on all this R&D.
Close to the right idea but I suspect the best approach would be to give a somewhat less varied menu for six days then concentrate on having something interesting for the seventh. Sunday lunch would become an important bonding exercise as well as a meal to look forward to and it would guarantee the cook would receive a proper level of appreciation too!
Work out the calorific value in one human. Work out the daily calorie requirements of one human. Decide how many humans you need remaining upon arrival at destination. Now solve equation to find out how many humans you need to start the journey with. (You'll need to take into account the early calorie requirements of those who will later provide calories to others).
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But doesn't the whole thing have precedents, which have already solved most of the problem? Nuclear subs go out on patrols lasting up to two years, and the Navy has long since sorted out how to store and prepare food during these missions. Surely if NASA asked nicely, they'd share the information? ... Or even cooks?
You are wrong.
Boats have large quantities of "fresh" stores when they set out, and they know how to make them last for a year or 18 months. Sub crews eat better than the rest of the Navy.
Space crews use mostly dried food, for mass reasons. On the Subs, fresh food is a part of the ballast. The boats actually take on water as the food reserves are eaten.
And it's not the same style of cooking. At all. NASA'd be better off talking to old-school chuck wagon cooks than the fine folks running the galleys in the nations Sub Fleet.
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