Just Like Being There by Eric Choi

Author:Eric Choi
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030916053
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Afterword

“A Man’s Place” was first published in the anthology Space Inc. edited by Julie Czerneda, which was a collection of stories about future jobs in space. My original idea had been to write a story about an interior designer and the challenges they would face in developing habitats that were both functional and aesthetically pleasing in the challenging space environment. In the course of my research, I learned that some astronauts have found food to be less flavourful in space due to sinus congestion caused by the redistribution of bodily fluids in microgravity. Since my enthusiasm for space is closely rivalled by my love of food, I quickly changed the premise of the story to that of a cook on a lunar base.

Prior to the first human spaceflights in the 1960s, some doctors were concerned that people might not be able to eat at all due to speculation that reduced gravity could impair swallowing. Fortunately, the cosmonauts of the Vostok missions and the astronauts of the Mercury missions experienced no such difficulties because swallowing is enabled by peristaltic contractions in the oesophagus. The food provided to the first cosmonauts and astronauts was decidedly unappetizing, consisting of a semi-liquid mush that was squeezed out of toothpaste-type aluminium tubes. On April 12, 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became not only the first human in space but also the first person to eat in space, squeezing tubes of beef and liver paste into his mouth. Astronaut John Glenn had applesauce on his mission in the same manner, while his successors on later Mercury missions ate compressed bite-sized cubes that were rehydrated by saliva as the food was chewed.

Today, cosmonauts and astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) can choose hundreds of items from menus developed by their respective national space agencies, which can also be personalized with commercially available food products. As crews have become more international and diverse, the variety of food aboard the ISS has improved in ways that Gagarin and Glenn could only have dreamed about. Foods that have been available on the ISS include beef tongue with olives from Russia, yakisoba noodles from Japan, macarons from France, pemmican jerky from Canada, kimchi from South Korea, and saloona from the United Arab Emirates. Chinese taikonauts have on their missions enjoyed items such as yuxiang shredded pork, Kung Pao chicken, eight-treasure rice pudding, and herbal tea. Should the events of my story “Fixer Upper” come to pass, Chinese taikonauts might one day bring their food to the ISS as well.

If your mouth is watering at these descriptions, it is important to remember that good food in space is not a luxury but a necessity. Most cosmonauts and astronauts have experienced weight loss during their missions, and there have been reports of appetite being depressed in microgravity. If food is not palatable and tasty, then crews may not eat enough to get the required nutrition. Low zinc has been associated with exacerbating the reduced taste and smell from fluid redistribution in microgravity, which would affect overall dietary intake.

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