Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) aren't going to let the fact that they are not on Earth ruin their Thanksgiving dinner.
The six astronauts aboard the ISS will enjoy a hearty meal of thermostabilized yams, freeze dried green beans, and other holiday inspired food items, Space.com reported.
"We now have about 200 different foods and beverages that are part of our baseline food system for the International Space Station," NASA food scientist Vickie Kloeris told Space.com in a video interview. "Included in those are a variety of traditional-type Thanksgiving items.
"For instance, we have sliced turkey that is thermostabilized - it's in a pouch so they warm it up and cut the pouch open and eat out of the pouch with a fork," she said. "We also have some of the traditional side dishes. We have cornbread dressing freeze-dried - they add water on orbit. We have mashed potatoes - no gravy, unfortunately."
Astronauts did not always have such a wide variety of food options.
"I've been working with space food about 28 years," Kloeris told Space.com. "Preservation methods that we've used over the years haven't changed all that much, but the variety has grown a bunch over that time because we've gone from short duration shuttle flights to six month stays on the International Space Station. The amount of variety that we have to provide for a six-month stay is much greater than for a week or two on the shuttle."
NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Rick Mastracchio are scheduled to work on experiments regarding Comet ISON on Thanksgiving, but will look forward to a special meal at the end of the day.
"People often ask us what it's like to be onboard ISS (International Space Station) for the holidays," Hopkins said in a Thanksgiving video. "Though we miss our families, it's great to be in space. As astronauts, this is what we train for and this is where we want to be."
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