Space Food

As you’ve read elsewhere in this issue, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was the world’s first great theoretician of interplanetary flight. He believed in the power of man to overcome time and space and settle freely throughout the universe. Tsiolkovsky posited that new generations of perfected humans would be able to survive without food as we understand it, like plants deriving most of their necessary nutrients from the rays of the sun.

Although most of Tsiolkovsky’s eccentric theories have been disproved, Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts did begin traveling in space not terribly long after his death. And of course they needed food. In 1963, the Russian Academy of Sciences began formulating space-age foods at Moscow’s Institute of Medico-Biological Problems. The first space foods were semi-liquid, packed into toothpaste-like tubes. The problem was that they didn’t satisfy hunger, and the cosmonauts complained. The menu was then developed to include more appealing foods, like jellied beef tongue, fish pies, and Pozharsky cutlets. 

By the early 1980s, more than two hundred different items were on the cosmic menu. But in the late 1980s and 1990s, with Russia’s social upheavals, the Institute’s funding disappeared, so in 1994 the Americans stepped in to help. Today, half of the food for the International Space Station is supplied by the Americans, and half by the Russians. Most of the American products are packaged in the retort pouches that were developed for military rations. They are precooked and then heated in a compact electric oven in the ISS’s Zvezda service module. 

The Russian foods are still largely sealed in metal cans, but they are no less tasty. Astronauts and cosmonauts alike are picky enough that tastings are now held before any new product is accepted into the space program. The Russian menu boasts Tatar meat and potato stew, pike-perch, sturgeon, green shchi, borsch, and dehydrated tvorog, which American astronaut Ed Lu claims was his favorite breakfast item. 

The Americans serve up entrees like chicken teriyaki, meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy, chicken pot pie, and, in an ironic twist, beef stroganoff. Some fresh fruits and vegetables are also available. The Americans tend to request citrus – grapefruit, oranges, and lemons – while the Russians ask for apples, onions, and garlic. Four meals a day are provided; the menu repeats every eight days. 

One of the provisioning challenges is to give the astronauts not only nutritious meals but foods that are psychologically comforting. To this end, until the 1980s Russian cosmonauts were allowed to drink an alcohol-based extract of Eleutherococcus root, and they were even given tubes of brandy for celebrations. However, scientists soon discovered that even small amounts of alcohol impaired the cosmonauts’ ability to work, so the alcohol program was discontinued. [Perhaps not completely, as news of ISS pre-flight drunkenness surfaced just as this issue was going to press.]

One earthly practice that doesn’t change in space is the sharing of meals. The Zvezda galley table, equipped with bungee straps and Velcro to keep the utensils from floating away, is the social center of the astronauts’ universe. Rather than sitting down for a meal, the astronauts and cosmonauts float around the table as they eat and share stories. Not a bad way to dine!

Apple Zefir

Although this mousse isn’t suitable for space travel, its ethereal lightness does evoke celestial realms. 

2 pounds tart apples

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Grated rind of 1 lemon

1⁄2 cup sugar

2 egg whites

1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Peel and core the apples and cut them into chunks. Place in a covered dish and microwave on high for 10 minutes, or until very soft. Put through a food mill or sieve to make a smooth puree. Stir in the lemon juice and rind. Place in the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours, until very cold (the puree can be chilled overnight).

Place the chilled puree in the bowl of an electric mixture and beat on high speed for a few minutes. Add the sugar and beat for 1 minute more. Stir the egg whites together in a small bowl with a fork, then add them to the puree and beat the mixture at high speed until light and frothy, about 5 minutes. Carefully fold in the whipped cream by hand.

Gently spoon the mixture into individual ramekins or a large decorative bowl. Chill for 1 hour before serving.

Serves 8. Prep time: 1 hour.