After Flight meals

[snowangel]

Vickie, thanks so much for taking the time to participate in this. These Q & A's are so fun!

Do you have any idea of what the astronauts crave when they ware in space? What they miss mose? What their first "fresh meal" is like? The idea of time without a fresh salad or freshly roasted cauliflower is horrifying.

[Vickie Kloeris]

Food is such a personal preference item that it depends upon the crewmember as to what foods they crave during a mission. It also depends upon the duration of a mission. Shuttle crewmembers who are gone for only two weeks don't have near as many, or as strong cravings, as ISS crewmembers who are gone for 4 - 6 months. Fresh salads are often reported as being missed. Also pizza and beer as you might imagine. It varies widely. When our crewmembers return on the Shuttle and land in the U.S., they often make specific requests for their first meal back. However, many find that they do not feel well enough to eat a large meal right after landing. It takes the body a little while to re-acclimate to earth normal gravity. I have no idea what the crewmembers eat when they return from ISS on the Soyuz and land in Russia. That's handled by the Russians.