Deep space dine

Travel to Mars, once a pie-in-the-sky fantasy, is now the fodder for real NASA research. How do we take that next giant step deeper into space? And speaking of those pies in the sky, how will astronauts keep their bellies content on such a long journey? After all, there’s no Spam musubi in space.

For now, that is.

Thanks to NASA, six individuals will explore the possibilities of eating Spam musubi, sushi and fried noodles in space during the 120-day Hawai‘i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation Mission, referred to as HI-SEAS. The study is being run by the University of Hawaii and Cornell University.

On Monday the crew will enter a habitat on Hawaii island, near the Mauna Loa access road at 8,000 feet. While each crew member will conduct individual research projects, the group will come together to test new forms of food and food preparation for deep space.

It turns out a contented belly isn’t just a luxury. Space travelers have long subsisted on prepackaged food, but after an extended period some suffer from "menu fatigue," which could eventually lead to malnutrition.

The crew will cook some meals from shelf-stable products using a stove, microwave and bread maker. The rest of the meals will be prepackaged food.

Earlier this year the public was invited to submit recipes in a contest using ingredients that will fill the habitat’s pantry. These items include freeze-dried meats, fruits and vegetables; canned meats; various grains, beans, nuts and oils; egg crystals; TVP (texturized vegetable protein); condiments; pasta; canned and powdered dairy products; instant coffee; teas; fruit drink mixes; seasonings; and baking items.

From more than 65 recipe submissions, 25 were voted onto the mission’s menu lineup by both the public and the crew, in the categories of breakfast, soup and stew, main meal, dessert and snack. At the end of HI-SEAS on Aug. 13, the crew will announce the top recipes in each category.

"I thought the submissions were terrific," said crew member Sian Proctor, HI-SEAS’ education outreach officer. She organized the contest and will keep the public abreast of the mission with images and videos, to be posted to the HI-SEAS website (www.hi-seas.org). The crew will blog as well.

"The recipes were better than I imagined. We could see that there was a lot of thought and attention to detail. People put passion and creativity into them."

A sampling: Blueberry Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes, Moroccan Beef Tagine, Spam Musubi, Spicy Veg Sushi Rolls, Curried Spam Fried Rice Noodles and Hawaiian Celebration Cake.

"We needed the dishes to be as efficient as possible for astronauts on Mars, who, as you can imagine, would have a lot to do," Proctor said. "These look good and tasty, as well. I can’t wait to try them."

Though pantry items are shelf stable, that doesn’t mean they lack nutrients or flavor. Proctor says the nutritional value of dried fruits and vegetables is high, and the freeze-dried meat actually tastes pretty good.

Proctor, who calls herself a "soup girl," can’t wait to try a Chicken & Spinach Enchilada Soup recipe.

"That’s one of my all-time favorite soups," she said.

Since the entire crew will rotate cooking duties, some training was in order. Proctor has had a lifelong love of cooking, but other crew members weren’t as versed in the kitchen.

"I’m a typical engineer. I don’t cook; I just scavenge food off other people," admitted Simon Engler, the mission’s engineer, who is also conducting robotics research. "During the selection process we had a three-day cookout where a professional chef showed us how to prepare food from scratch."

Along with Proctor and Engler, other scientists selected for the mission were Yajaira Sierra-Sastre, Kate Greene, Oleg Abramov and Angelo Vermeulen.

In January a two-week crew training session in Utah gave Engler the chance to practice what he’d learned.

"Cooking was a lot more fun than I thought and also a lot easier. If you follow the recipes and are careful with things like temperature, you can make a good meal," he said. "I’d feel guilty if my food tasted terrible and everyone had a bad meal."

Proctor said she "thoroughly enjoyed the days in which we had prepared meals. … It was cool to see the creativity coming out in different ways."

Cooking in the habitat will pose specific challenges to Proctor, who says she cooks "off the cuff. I don’t use recipes." Since much of the food is dried, she’ll have to take care to measure ingredients.

"When you rehydrate these items, they expand more than you realize. Getting used to that will be interesting," she said.

Another facet of the meal preparation model to be considered is how it affects the crew socially. Cooking for one another encourages sharing meals together.

"So many problems are solved over the dinner table, whether it’s research or functioning in the habitat itself," said Engler.

Proctor agrees.

"One of the things about being on a mission is that you can be very busy doing your research. To be able to come together — to do planning, to laugh — is really powerful. It’s a real bonding," she said.

"There’s a sense of community built around the dining room table."

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Sian Proctor will attempt to try one to two recipes weekly while on the mission and post demos on the HI-SEAS website, www.hi-seas.org.