Eating in Space: Food for Thought. EG-2011-08-00005-SSC

Among the thousands of questions that need to be answered before astronauts travel to distant planets and asteroids are questions related to the astronauts themselves. How much food will they need and what foods can they take? We are fortunate on Earth to have an amazing variety of foods to eat. When astronauts do go to Mars and other destinations, mission crews will be international. Carrying food the entire crew likes will be a real challenge. In this two-part activity, student teams will learn how to determine calorie requirements of astronauts and plan a one-day menu for an American astronaut and one for an international astronaut. In an optional extension to this activity, teams can learn how the calorie content (energy contained) in different foods is determined. They will measure the energy in several foods using a calorimeter they construct from simple materials. Appended are: (1) International Space Station Standard Menu Nutritional Data; and (2) Cooking Conversion Table. (Contains 3 footnotes.)