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Eating in Space

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Nik

Sun Nov 24 2013, 03:25AM

Registered Member #53 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 04:31AM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 638

From a brief google it looks like all the cooking in space has involved hot water and plastic bags, that doesn't lead to a lot of variety in flavour or texture. While on my daily commute I had an idea for a zero/micro-gravity friendly stove top replacement.

Imagine a bunt cake pan but with a lip on the outer edge, the centre post would be attached to a pivot to allow the pan to spin and keep food stuck against the side of the pan. The pan would be spun and heated by a pair of induction coils running slightly out of phase to each other. With a pan of a decent diameter you wouldn't even need much rotation to keep food from leaving the heated surface, it would also make it a lot easier for an astronaut to reach in with utensils to manipulate food and then stick it back to the inside of the rotating pan.

Using induction coils to heat and rotate the cooking pan would cut down on weight (a big concern with space going appliances ) and would also make it more user serviceable than a standard motor and electric heater. If a heater is dead it's dead, you have to replace it, the same goes for most motors, with an induction heater replacement parts can be much smaller and more generic. Perhaps designed with parts already in use on its intended craft.

So, is this idea crazy? Was I suffering from highway hypnosis or could this be a do-able project. I would imagine that the opportunity to have real fried bacon or stir fried vegetables would be jumped at by astronauts given the current state of their food. Storing food in uncooked bulk could probably be done more efficiently than have every meal premade and bagged.

Ash Small

Sun Nov 24 2013, 09:38AM

Registered Member #3414 Joined: Sun Nov 14 2010, 05:05PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4245

Wel, as I see it, one of the advantages of 'individually wrapped meals' is the 'contamination issue'.

It's easier to keep individually wrapped food sterile. It's eaten as soon as it's unwrapped, so there is virtually no risk of contamination. This wouldn't be the case with 'bulk food', which could become contaminated once opened, and therefore presents a greater health risk.

Conundrum

Sun Nov 24 2013, 02:12PM

Registered Member #96 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:37PM
Location: CI, Earth
Posts: 4062

Makes sense, also like Nik says the parts can be useful elsewhere.
A lot of components such as PCs with the right software can emulate custom ICs used in the propulsion, avionics etc and also potentially life support.

-A

radiotech

Mon Nov 25 2013, 03:32AM

Registered Member #2463 Joined: Wed Nov 11 2009, 03:49AM
Location:
Posts: 1546

Just thinking out of the cracker-jack box. How about storing food in edible wrappers.
Think of space as giant ocean of non-dark matter and you are a giant forage fish filtering
what you need and awaiting for your turn to be filtered by a superior fish.

Nik

Mon Nov 25 2013, 05:11AM

Registered Member #53 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 04:31AM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 638

I was thinking of cooking in space because the ultimate goal is to have self sustaining (or damned near) stations/ships. If you are growing you food in space you need to be able to cook it in space. I don't think contamination would be a big problem (space is the perfect fridge if you stay in the shade) but if you are gardening in space you can keep a small stock and replenish it as you consume it mitigating the contamination problem. The reason I brought it up at all was that I wanted to know if it was an idea worth crunching numbers over. If it isn't entirely nuts then I would like to sit down and figure out how much d/v^2 would be required to keep food in good thermal contact and how many watts of induction heat would be required to do the actual cooking.

Shrad

Mon Nov 25 2013, 10:43AM

Registered Member #3215 Joined: Sun Sept 19 2010, 08:42PM
Location:
Posts: 780

I think the most efficient way to sustain a crew in space would be bioreactors with reengineered yeasts...

they made it to produce insulina, why not to produce banana or tomato flavor or basic aminated compounds, and then centrifugate to produce meat or fruit equivalents?

the only drawback would be the moral of the crew... would you enjoy eating paste for months? teeth problems, etc... would rise

Nik

Mon Nov 25 2013, 08:34PM

Registered Member #53 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 04:31AM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 638

If they have problems with moral I'm sure they could bring along the right combination of yeast and plants needed to turn sunlight into alcohol ;)

Shrad

Mon Nov 25 2013, 10:26PM

Registered Member #3215 Joined: Sun Sept 19 2010, 08:42PM
Location:
Posts: 780

bwahaha :) there would be another meaning to moonshine then... speaking of that I wonder if there are people brewing and/or distilling here... I made a small 5L pot still and I've already done a batch of fine fruit booze ^^

Tetris

Thu Nov 28 2013, 06:53PM

Registered Member #4016 Joined: Thu Jul 21 2011, 01:52AM
Location: Gainesville, FL
Posts: 660

Shrad wrote ...

bwahaha :) there would be another meaning to moonshine then... speaking of that I wonder if there are people brewing and/or distilling here... I made a small 5L pot still and I've already done a batch of fine fruit booze ^^

I had a funny thought. Once Moon-tourism becomes a reality, there'll be a moonshine distillery... on the moon.

Ash Small

Thu Nov 28 2013, 08:04PM

Registered Member #3414 Joined: Sun Nov 14 2010, 05:05PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4245

Shrad wrote ...

I think the most efficient way to sustain a crew in space would be bioreactors with reengineered yeasts...

they made it to produce insulina, why not to produce banana or tomato flavor or basic aminated compounds, and then centrifugate to produce meat or fruit equivalents?

the only drawback would be the moral of the crew... would you enjoy eating paste for months? teeth problems, etc... would rise

I think a vegetarian 'meat substitute' sold in this country as 'Quorn' is made from some sort of microscopic fungi. It comes in various 'textures' and 'flavours'.

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