Americans across the country and in the air will enjoy traditional Thanksgiving dishes on the holiday.
That's right--even those serving as United States astronauts in space. The six members on the International Space Station will eat turkey, freeze-dried green beans, thermostabilized yams and more on the orbit, SPACE.com reported.
We now have about 200 different foods and beverages that are part of our baseline food system for the International Space Station," NASA food scientist Vickie Kloeris said Wednesday in a video interview with SPACE.com. "Included in those are a variety of traditional type Thanksgiving items.
"For instance, we have sliced turkey that is thermostabilized. It's in a pouch so they warm it up and cut the pouch open and eat out of the pouch with a fork," Kloeris said. "We also have some of the traditional side dishes. We have cornbread dressing freeze-dried--they add water on orbit. We have mashed potatoes--no gravy, unfortunately."
The food options are more varied than they were before astronauts began spending long durations on the space station. The variety is much greater for a six-month stay compared with a week or two, Kloeris said.
While NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Rick Mastracchio don't have the holiday off, they will enjoy some free time during their day working on various scientific experiments. As one of their duties, the astronauts will attempt to spot the Comet ISON, which is likely to pass closely to the sun Thursday.
"People often ask us what it's like to be onboard ISS [International Space Station] for the holidays," Hopkins said in a Thanksgiving video beamed down from the station. "Though we miss our families, it's great to be in space. As astronauts, this is what we train for and this is where we want to be."
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
