Essay on Cooking Meal in Space

Picture yourself in space attempting to eat each meal of the day and how much more complicated it would be than to prepare food on Earth. This is because of some of the issues that come along with space travel. Some reasons why preparing your meals in space would be more complicated than on Earth are because astronauts have no refrigerators, there is not a vast amount of space to be used for storage, some foods can be dangerous in their regular form, and finally, the body uses nutrients differently in space than how it is used here on Earth. To learn more about prepping meals in space and how complex it is compared to Earth, some examples of my personal reasoning are stated and explained in the next subsequent paragraphs.

An example of why preparing meals in space can be more complex than here on Earth is because there are no refrigerators and as well, astronauts don't have a massive amount of space to store the meals that have been specially prepared for them by their meal planners. In passage one: Eating in Space, NASA states in paragraph two that “There are no refrigerators in space, so space food must be stored and prepared properly to avoid spoilage, especially on longer missions.” Since refrigerators can’t be used on missions to space, the astronauts and meal planners have to put into consideration the types of space food they can take without having any predicaments. If food spoils or anything happens to the food, it could be dangerous for the astronauts and potentially harm them.

When meal planners consider the food astronauts can take on their voyage to space, it will take longer to consider travel safe foods. Without refrigerators, it is more complex to prepare foods than how it is on Earth. As well, in every space adventure, astronauts have a restricted amount of space that can be used for food storage. In passage two: No Pizza in Space?, NASA explains in paragraph nine that “There is not a refrigerator on the space shuttle…. There is a very small chiller on board. There isn’t room for much.” Since the space shuttles are little in size, the astronauts can be limited on what they can and can’t take. With limited spaces to store your meals, it can make it harder to prep each meal due to the lack of storage space provided. Here on Earth, we have large spaces to store our food before we prepare it compared to space.  When having access to refrigerators and a generous amount of space, it can be simpler to prepare meals here on Earth than the ways you can prepare meals in space.

As well, some certain foods during space travel can be harmful. Just like pepper and salt. In its regular form, these two extras could surely harm astronauts and as well, space equipment. In passage one: Eating in Space, paragraph three explains that “Condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise, are provided. Salt and pepper are available, but only in liquid form. This is because astronauts can’t sprinkle salt and pepper on their food in space. The salt and pepper would simply float away. There is a danger they could clog air vents, contaminate equipment, or get stuck in astronaut's eyes, mouth, or nose.” Due to the issues of some foods, these items must be adjusted to make sure no damage can be done. So, in order to salt or prepare your meals with extras, the method has to be changed from what we do on Earth, to liquid forms of the food. If food is in its natural form during a space mission, it could harm several things leading to serious consequences which is why this method has changed. This proves that it is more troublesome to prepare your meals in space because you have to take time to adjust these food items so that they are proper for a space mission. As you can tell, here on Earth it is easier to prepare meals because of the little chances of having issues.

Another reason why space meals are difficult to prepare than here on Earth are that the body uses nutrients differently in space. In passage two: No Pizza in Space?, NASA explains that “The body uses nutrients differently in space. Astronauts burn fewer calories. Iron is used differently in the body. The meal planners allow for these changes in planning meals.” Since the body uses nutrients differently in space than how it is used on Earth, meal planners have to specially plan these meals compared to what we would do on Earth. So, in order to make sure the astronauts get just the right amount of calories and everything the body needs in a day, meal planners have to put more thought into each meal. On Earth, we don’t have to go through a procedure and plan out our meals. So, therefore, preparing meals in space is more complicated than on our home planet, Earth because the body uses nutrients differently.

In conclusion, preparing your meals in space is more complex than here on Earth. This is because there are no refrigerators in space, there is not a huge amount of space to store food limiting what you can take, foods in their original form can be dangerous, and finally, in space, the body uses nutrients differently than how it is used on Earth. For all of these reasons, space food is more complicated to prepare than food on Earth. How would you feel if you were traveled out to space and ate there? It would be awesome, but with these complications, it as well could be difficult. But remember, you can achieve anything, even eating in space!