Everyone has ever fantasized about becoming an astronaut. Because space, so immense and unknown, generates curiosity. Although so does everything that surrounds the space adventure, especially when it comes to food. Many astronauts have expressed that the food up there is not very appetizing. Recently, a photograph of a plate of space food has gone viral and has aroused the intrigue of users. “Is it an omelette?”, “Pasta?”, “Paella?”.
Last November the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that two Spaniards would be part of the new class of European astronauts. Since then, biotechnologist Sara García, from León, selected as a reserve, and engineer Pablo Álvarez, also from León, have been preparing for key missions for the future of aerospace exploration, such as the return to the Moon. The astronauts have been sharing some of their experiences in recent months. And one of the curiosities around the day to day in space is food.
Álvarez shared a photograph on his Twitter account in which a vacuum-packed yellow food could be seen. “What food do you think this bag contains?” he asked his followers.
Many users responded to the tweet, who doubted whether it was a Valencian paella, chicken curry, pasta or tortilla. Although many others took the opportunity to ask the expert questions, who responded without problems.
“What are the caloric requirements up there? I imagine the body will spend less by getting rid of a lot of muscle work,” asked one. “It spends much less, but every day we have to do about two hours of exercise to counteract the effects of the lack of gravity. An approximate formula would be: basal metabolic rate 1.4”.
But beyond the curiosities about life in space, what really interested users was knowing what that bag in the photograph contained. And many got it right. They were scrambled eggs, although their preparation is somewhat different: they must be heated with 100 milliliters of water for five to ten minutes. They are not very reminiscent of the original preparation, but that is food in space.
