Astronaut Yuri Gagarin was the first person to eat and drink in space in 1961, with food in a paste form contained in tubes.
The first meal in space took place during humanity’s inaugural orbital flight in 1961. At that time, astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to travel into space, completing one orbit around Earth in 108 minutes.
Yuri Gagarin is the first person to eat and drink in space. (Photo: IFL Science).
The Vostok 1 spacecraft was stocked with supplies intended to last for 13 days, in case the rocket’s retrograde system (the mechanism used to slow the spacecraft) failed, requiring a wait for the spacecraft to naturally descend back to Earth. This also provided a great opportunity to test eating and drinking in space.
Despite experiments conducted in the “Vomit Comet” aircraft on Earth, scientists were still uncertain whether basic functions like chewing and swallowing could be performed in a microgravity environment. A crucial consideration was the “no crumbs” policy, leading to the choice of food that could be made into a paste and placed in metal tubes similar to toothpaste containers.
Even though he was in orbit for less than two hours, Gagarin managed to enjoy a few food items. The main course consisted of beef and liver paste. Gagarin consumed two tubes of this food, followed by a tube of chocolate sauce for dessert.
At that time, scientists were unclear about the effects of microgravity on the human body. They did not want to take any risks, so the spacecraft was controlled from the ground, with a code to switch to manual control only in emergencies, including potential digestive issues. However, with the first meal in orbit, Gagarin demonstrated that eating in space was entirely feasible.
As more astronauts began to fly into space for longer durations, scientists gained further insights into the effects of microgravity on humans. They discovered that human taste perception could change. Fluids in the body tend to shift toward the head, and numerous studies have shown that this could lead to diminished olfactory factors in food flavor, similar to eating while experiencing a cold.
After Gagarin’s flight, the diets of astronauts in orbit saw significant improvements. They not only had pizza delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) but could also bake cookies. They also had the ability to drink coffee thanks to a specially designed cup for use in microgravity.
Scientists even experimented with frying food in a microgravity environment. These tests were conducted carefully using a specialized fryer in aircraft simulating weightless conditions. Through this, they proved that deep frying in microgravity is feasible with the right equipment. However, the “no crumbs” rule remains a challenging obstacle to overcome.
