Six astronauts aboard the International Space Station, will be able to enjoy their own Thanksgiving feast, with a two-year-old, irradiated sliced turkey from pantry and freeze-dried dressing.
"Naturally, this stuff is not going to be quite the same as homemade and being fresh-carved off the turkey," said Vicki Kloeris, ISS food system manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston told USA Today. "We come as close as we can, given the constraints that we have of no refrigerators and no freezers."
The astronauts can choose from about 200 food and beverage items during their six-month expedition on ISS.
Items include freeze-dried cornbread dressing, with hot water added, green beans and mushrooms, mashed potatoes without gravy, candied yams and desserts such as cherry-blueberry cobbler.
All foods remain fit to be eaten through their long journey, which could be extended if an emergency takes place, but the taste is not same as a regular Thanksgiving meal. Astronauts said their tastes are different in space.
Kloeris said fluid rises to the astronauts' heads early in flights, making them feel congested and food smells go various directions instead rising to their noses.
NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, said the turkey is great and his crew mates are excited about having a Thanksgiving meal.
"It kind of binds us all together more as humans, even though we're from different countries, and makes it a very special time, a very meaningful time on station," Marshburn said.
The spacecraft provided an opportunity for astronauts to connect with families on the ground. In a recorded message, astronauts showed off their packaged Thanksgiving dinners that were stuck to the station walls.
They also thanked family and friends for their support and sent support to service members who might be deployed for the holidays. Finally, they wished everyone on the ground a happy Thanksgiving.
"The six of us up here are like a family," said astronaut Rick Mastracchi. "Like most people in the U.S., Thanksgiving means spending time with my family and enjoying a big meal."
