What is a cow doing in a spaceship?

The two space powers struggled a lot over the question of what kind of food should be provided to the astronauts

Avi Blizovsky

The two space powers struggled a lot over the question of what kind of food should be provided to the astronauts.

And despite the time and thought, eating in space has not become a noteworthy gastronomic experience. John Glenn, the first American astronaut, pumped applesauce from a toothpaste tube-like container; Neil Armstrong got the energy needed to stay on the moon from pork belly, peanut cubes and hot dogs. Although today's astronauts are fed shrimp cocktail, fried chicken and peaches, their diet is far from enviable.
The Russian cosmonauts, who spend many months on the "Mir" space station, eat a little more regular food, but low in calories. During the twilight period of the Soviet regime, when the government delayed the delivery of the supply spacecraft, the residents of "Mir" were forced to eat experimental food, such as experimental lettuce grown in space.
The Americans try to add a touch of prestige to the names of the foods - Texas-style beef cuts and the like, but Charles Borland, Deputy Director of Food Systems for Space Stations at NASA, uses a simple image: "It's similar to baby food." Even so, the space shuttle crew's food is more like camping food than baby food. In fact, the astronauts are allowed to choose their meals from a variety of more than a hundred items. Among other things: shrimp cocktail and personal portions of puddings and cereals.
Ironically, the shuttle's menu is so large that missions turn into snack parties. "They don't have proper nutrition," Borland says. "Their food is indeed rich in sodium and fat, but low in fiber. The space shuttles do not have a refrigerator or a microwave, so it is not possible to store refrigerated food in them. Milk powder can solve the problem
the refrigeration, but all the powders tried failed the taste test. The astronauts, on the other hand, did not get used to a hot haircut."
Fresh fruits and vegetables are also difficult to bring into space. The ferry's food box contains carrot sticks, corn cobs and apples in an amount sufficient for several days. To maintain crew morale, NASA allows them to taste the food before takeoff, to choose their favorite foods. A dietitian checks the order and suggests a balanced menu accordingly. The only possibility to heat it is in a special oven, built on hot air circulation. The problem is that the oven only heats up to a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius.
Jelly and peanut butter on corn cobs, and chocolate covered sweets, are at the top of the list of requested foods. One of the astronauts reported that he enjoyed wheat grains and crackers in the shape of a goldfish: "It's fun to let the crackers float around and catch them in your mouth. On the other hand, the dried vegetables that are covered with some kind of sauce cannot be flooded with air. You have to push a finger into the package, and squeeze it enough so that the sauce reaches everyone
The vegetable parts".
Despite the hearty descriptions, Borland says, the astronauts admitted that the food was reasonable, but not the kind of food they would want to continue eating for a month or more. The next step in space exploration - a manned space station - will require astronauts to live in space for many months. Therefore, NASA is now developing a suitable refrigerator, freezer and microwave device.
When there are permanent colonies in space, an attempt will be made to raise all the needs of humans and animals in the spaceship. Algae will provide the oxygen in the spacecraft, but will also be part of the menu. Fish will provide the proteins and vegetables the other nutrients. Cows, apparently, will not grow on the space station, and their meat will be brought from Earth.

- Published as part of Avi Blizovsky's "Thousand Years" section in "Haaretz"