by Susan Klatz Beal

Created on: April 23, 2009   Last Updated: April 27, 2009

The dietary practices and methods for food preparation, especially on board NASA's Space Shuttles would remind the average person of a camping trip. Everything from the preparations to the packaging and storing are crucial. Food needs to be properly packaged and stowed to prevent spoilage, but also to ensure that it doesn't weigh too much or take up too much space, and of course, most importantly, it needs to taste good.

The diet of an astronaut in space has come a long way from what it was in the earlier days. On some of the earliest space flights, the astronauts ate food that was pureed and packaged in tubes. The tubes were very much like the typical toothpaste tube. All they had to do was squeeze the contents of the tube right into their mouths.

The next phase of astronaut food consisted of food that was cut into cubes and covered with a coating to prevent crumbs from forming. Eliminating crumbs was crucial because in zero gravity, particles like that can clog the ventilation system, contaminate equipment, or fly in an astronauts eyes, nose or mouth. Everything an astronaut would eat came in the form of cubes that were about the size of a crouton.

Things have come a very long way from the days of pureed food in toothpaste tubes and anti crumb coated cubes of food. Now, astronauts are free to choose what they want to eat within a range of things that NASA deems easy to accomodate. Although astronauts have some flexibility in the choice of foods they eat on their missions, a dietitian and nutritionist are dispatched to ensure that all of the astronauts are getting the proper amount of vitamins and minerals.

A large man would typically require 3200 calories of food a day, whereas a small woman would only require about 1900 calories. All Shuttle vehicles carry enough food for every astronaut to eat three well balanced and nutritious meals a day and any snacks the astronauts may wish to eat while in space.

The calories count for an astronaut's daily food intake may seem extreme to those of us on earth, but one needs to remember that even though they are in a weightless environment, their daily work out regime on the Space Station if at least 4 times as long as what the average person does on earth. In addition, because of the potential for bone and muscle loss, they must do weight bearing exercise, aerobic exercise and resistance training on a daily basis. On space shuttle flights, astronauts work out intensively as well.

The foods that astronauts eat varies and they

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