Cooking in space

In space most food is rehydrated, warmed up, or comes in cans which might not be the most appetising for astronauts spending many months in space.

Can making your own food help with motivation for both astronauts and others who might lack the access to cooking? Food Processor, led by the French space agency CNES, together with the French User Support Centre CADMOS, had Andreas make a chocolate mousse using a specially designed whisk.

“We realised that the mixing of molecules with the air occurs quicker in space than on Earth and in general, the volume of the egg whites was bigger than on Earth,” says Alain Maillet, science executive officer at CADMOS.

Besides supporting astronauts in space, the experiment could help elderly people or people with reduced mobility on Earth to cook and be motivated to get into the kitchen. Alain explains that they are also working in making a complete system that could automatically collect the ingredients, cook them and serve the food.

You can read more about the science of the Huginn mission on the Huginn webpage.