Eat Your Vegetables?

Meals, Ready-to-Eat (MREs) or C-Rations or C-Rats, as most of us called them, were first introduced during WWII to provide our troops with a nutritional meal that was fairly easy to lug in a pack.  I got my first and only taste of C-Rats when I was in the Marine Corps.  As I remember, a meal was comprised of a can of meat, some kind of vegetable, bread of some type, crackers and a dessert.  I seem to recall some kits had a little can of sterno that you could use to heat the meal if you so desired.  I do know that I was one of the few that actually liked C-Rats; but then, no one has ever accused me of having taste.

Plus, it had this cool little John Wayne (P-38) can opener.  No idea why it was called a John Wayne, but this tiny piece of hardware had a variety of uses including can opener and screwdriver.  And tough?  I used that thing for tasks it was never designed for — it couldn’t be destroyed.  I’d still be using it if I hadn’t lost it in the move to our new house in 2001; but I managed to hang on to it for more than 20 years.

Obviously, nutrition is an important aspect of any endeavor and the MRE provides enough caloric intake to allow soldiers to perform their duties.

What do astronauts consume to maintain their vitality while on a mission?  If you asked me that question 40 years ago I’d of said Tang.  Ah, Tang.  I remember the commercials from my childhood.  I wanted to drink Tang because it’s what the astronauts drank.

Tang wasn’t invented for NASA.  According to “Today I Found Out” William A. Mitchell created  it in 1957.  NASA adopted its use in 1962 for the Mercury program to add flavor to John Glenn’s drinking water.

Astronaut meals have come a long way since the 60s.  In the early days of the space program, astronauts dined on food from squeezable aluminum tubes.  Nutritionally sound, but not very tasty.

The Lunar and Planetary Institute website details some of the dietary challenges astronauts face.  In space they lose bone mass so they need diets rich in calcium.  They might not get enough to eat because they’re just not as hungry, the food is not appetizing, or they are too busy to eat.  Most lose about 5% of their weight during a typical Space Station stay of four to six months.

NASA has a Nutritional Biochemistry lab with highly educated personnel and according to their website, they conduct a variety of studies including nutritional assessment studies, particularly in the field of bone metabolism and develop vitamins using HPLC-electrochemical detection methods.

According to Oprah.com, NASA also has a laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, which is a combination kitchen/lab.  Here, they’re developing food that could be used on a three-year mission to Mars.

I’m a pretty picky eater but I’d like to be one of the guinea pigs that tries the NASA concoctions.  Anyone else feeling brave?