It used to be thought that people could not swallow well in space, so the food programmes for astronauts consisted of bite – sized pieces of food pushed out of tubes. But now it is known that you can cat in space in the same way as on Earth. The physical constraints lie in the body of the spaceship rather than the body of the astronaut. Limited storage and cooking facilities, with no space or power to (i) _______ for complex food preparation, mean that the (ii) _______ for space nutritionists has gone beyond providing astronauts with food that is palatable and good for them. The solution has emerged in the form of dehydrated foods. Simply add water to the freeze – dried granules. With space flights often lasting more than a week, astronauts cannot live on granules alone. They also take pre- cooked meals scaled in bags, which they (iii) _______ up in a small oven. There are tastier than granules but, according to Dr. Helen Lane, a researeh putritionist, it is difficult to get astronauts to cat as much as they need. It is partly that they are so busy but also because there is no stimulation. So tickling their taste buds is an uphill struggle, especially since one of the effects of zero gravity is to (iv) _______ the sense of smell. Weightlessness is an important consideration in space food because of the danger that the food might fragment and float off in different (v) _______ . “We need foods that coalesce”, says Dr. Lane. “Yoghurts, puddings sauces all hold together in large droplets. Your spoon may float away, but the food will stay on it.”
(iii)_______