A dry breakfast in deep space
NASA has developed four types of bars with different flavors for breakfast crew "Orion" spacecraft
In 2021-2023 years of the spacecraft ''Orion" crew of four astronauts go to the flight around the moon and later to Mars. If this happens, the people on board will need high-quality and healthy food. The crew of the International Space Station with the power there is no problem - they can choose from approximately 200 products, almost like in a restaurant, and have enough space to store inventory and new products come to Earth on a regular basis. With the spacecraft "Orion" situation is fundamentally different. Power crew during long missions in deep space poses a number of special conditions. It is a unique problem which is now solved by NASA scientists.
Module space ship "Orion" during testing of the rescue operation Underway Recovery Test 5 in the Pacific Ocean. October 27, 2016.
Firstly, on the "Orion" is limited space for storing food during the mission. To him it is impossible to send a cargo ship, which replenish the supplies and take away the garbage. The crew will have to initially take with you everything you need. Taking into account the distance to the target destination, the engineers need to optimize food by weight, for every extra kilogram extra weight means fuel with an oxidant. This is in addition to the reserves of water and air, which in any case the astronauts have to take the rate of consumption of about 0.8 kg of oxygen and 2.2 kg of water per day for each crew member (water and oxygen can be obtained from partially allocated to liquids and water couple). For food in life-support systems laid the rate of 500 grams per person per day.
The spacecraft 'Orion "crew module and service module
To minimize the weight of the load on the spacecraft 'Orion', the researchers are developing a variety of options for nutritional bars. Nutritionists have found that dense calorie replacement usual breakfast will help reduce the total weight of the cargo. It is clear that the food with calorie 700-900 kcal in any case will have some significant weight and take up space, so experts also experimenting with the most optimal form of a bar and its packaging. If you rely on a 500-day mission to four people, this 2000 breakfast cereal on the road in one direction only - here each millimeter and gram counts.
Key differences between men and women astronauts noticed during observations on Earth and in space
On the ISS astronauts for a variety of thermally stabilized and dehydrated food in sealed containers. On "Orion," the challenge is to develop a set of nutrition bars with different flavors. So breakfast astronauts during a long journey to Mars will be too diverse. For lunch and dinner, the astronauts will have roughly the same set of power as the ISS. They will be able to warm up the food and add water if necessary.
Currently designed bars calorie 700-800 kcal four flavors:
- banana-nut;
- orange and cranberry;
- vanilla and ginger;
- nutty barbecue.
Scientists say that the market is out of the food bar, which would string matches the NASA requirements for long-term space mission by weight and calories, so you have to develop a new product. Preferably with a long shelf life. It is necessary to take into account the impact of the food bar on the morale of the crew. After many months of travel during a variety of flavors and palatability bars it is of great importance to maintain optimism and good mood among astronauts.
Nutrition bars, developed under the Human Research Program of the program, participants are already tested HERA test program - analogue terrestrial long-term space missions. Two men and two women in an isolated closed small room September 20, 2016 and is currently held there 67 days and 7 hours. The tests take place in the Space Center. Johnson. These tests will help NASA to avoid some of the problems before the real long-term flight. Including test how quickly people develop tired of the monotonous food, how much should be varied breakfasts.
Current tests should determine how often people are willing to have these bars:
- everyday;
- every five days;
- I do not eat at all.
While scientists continue to thicken food bars in a smaller volume and to increase the number of flavors, NASA engineers are working to develop products of regeneration options for long-term missions, as well as make the package, which will save the nutritional food properties when exposed to strong temperature changes that are possible on the surface of Mars .
The first test flight of a manned "Orion" is scheduled for 2021. The ship will orbit rocket Space Launch System, which is also currently under development.
The first unmanned test mission Exploration Mission 1 carrier rocket SLS is scheduled for September 30, 2018 with the LC-39 launch facility on the territory of the Space Center. Kennedy. The spacecraft 'Orion "crew without hold three weeks in space, including 6 days a retrograde orbit around the moon. The next will be a manned mission Exploration Mission 2 with four astronauts around the moon in the 2021-2023.
Referenced Materials:
- https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/index.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station
- https://www.nasa.gov/hrp
- https://www.nasa.gov/analogs/hera
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploration_Mission_1
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploration_Mission_2