Developed
in participation with

NASA

Selected Press Release

December 14, 2009

NASA MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-238

NASA ASTRONAUT, FOOD SCIENTIST AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS ABOUT HOLIDAY FEASTS IN SPACE

HOUSTON -- Irradiated smoked turkey, thermostabilized yams and NASA's
own special stuffing recipe can mean only one thing -- holiday season
aboard the International Space Station.

NASA food scientist Vickie Kloeris and astronaut Sandy Magnus, who was
aboard the orbiting laboratory during the 2008 holiday season, are
available the week of Dec. 14-18 to discuss how the traditional
holiday feast can be observed in space. To arrange an interview,
media representatives should contact the newsroom at NASA's Johnson
Space Center in Houston at 281-483-5111.

Station Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Maxim Suraev are
currently the sole residents aboard the complex. They will spend the
holidays with three new crew members. NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer,
Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
astronaut Soichi Noguchi are set to arrive on the station Dec. 22
after launching on a Soyuz spacecraft on Dec. 20 from Baikonur,
Kazakhstan.

Although they may not get the home cooking people on Earth enjoy this
season, the station crew can celebrate with a well-stocked, and by
all accounts tasty, pantry. The view from their table, speeding 220
miles above Earth at five miles per second, cannot be beat.

Space food has come a long way from the early days of "tubes and
cubes." The current station's menu includes more than 250 different
food and beverage items provided by the U.S. and Russia. Foods from
other partner nations also are available on the station's menu.

Kloeris is the manager of the International Space Station Food System.
Magnus served as a flight engineer for the 18th station crew. During
the three months she spent in orbit, Magnus kept a journal about her
experiences of cooking in space. Her efforts to spice up food aboard
the station are detailed at:



http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/magnus_cook


For more information about space food, visit:



http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/living/spacefood


For the latest information about the space station, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/station

September 2010 Press Releases | 2010 Press Release Archive | 2009 Press Release Archive