SALISBURY, Md. – While you prepared for turkey and mashed potatoes down on Earth, astronauts on the International Space Station were preparing for a slightly stranger meal.
There are currently three people on the ISS: Commander Alexander Gerst, Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor and Sergey Prokopyev. Gerst is German, Auñon-Chancellor is from the U.S. and Prokopyev is Russian, but the three were excited to share an American-style Thanksgiving together.
Gerst and Auñon-Chancellor posted a video message to Twitter and YouTube on Wednesday showing off their meal, which consisted of specially packed turkey, candied yams, stuffing and spicy poundcake.
The meal is prepared not by spending hours in the oven or on the stove like on Earth, however. The process begins in Houston, where scientists prepare the meal and then dehydrate, radiate or thermostabilize (similar to canning) it to prevent it from spoiling, according to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
Scientists put it in individual vacuum-sealed bags, which are carried into orbit and kept safe in a locker until Thanksgiving. The food is prepared on the ISS by adding hot water or putting it in a small warming oven.
Astronauts will eat together and call their families to wish them a happy holiday or just to chat.
The people on the ISS have been working hard to unload the 7,400 pounds of materials that reached the space station from Wallops Flight Facility early this week. The Saturday launch brought food, hygiene products and science experiments on board.
It was the second delivery in a short period of time. Wallops officials delayed the launch from Nov. 15 to Nov. 17, meaning the Cygnus spacecraft carrying materials arrived shortly after a Russian spacecraft also carrying supplies that launched the day before.
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