I Made It Happen

Butterfly Nebula

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Hubbles image of the Tarantula Nebula with an estimate 800,000 stars

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Daily Affirmation 394.

You are allowed to have trouble accepting your identity. You are allowed to struggle with your asexuality. It is not easy, or comfortable to be questioning or avoiding parts of yourself, but it is normal. It is human. And it does not mean that anyone else is allowed to invalidate who you are.

The Glow Through the Trees, Australia

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Space Food

The holiday season is upon us and much of the festivities revolve around food. While you decide whether to sauté or steam your green beans, let’s take a closer look at what astronauts eat while in space.

Since the start of human spaceflight, we’ve worked to improve the taste, texture and shelf life of food four our crews. Our food scientists are challenged with developing healthy menus that can meet all of the unique requirements for living and working in the extreme environment of space.

Consider the differences of living on Earth and in space. Food scientists must develop foods that will be easier to handle and consume in a microgravity environment. These food products require no refrigeration and provide the nutrition humans need to remain healthy during spaceflight.

Freeze drying food allows food to remain stable at ambient temperatures, while also significantly reducing the weight.

Fun Facts About Space Food:

Astronauts use tortillas in many of their meals

Tortillas provide an edible wrapper to keep food from floating away. Why tortillas and not bread? Tortillas make far less crumbs and can be stored easier. Bread crumbs could potentially float around and get stuck in filters or equipment.

The first food eaten by an American astronaut in space: Applesauce

The first American astronaut to eat in space dined on applesauce squeezed from a no-frills, aluminum toothpaste-like tube. Since then, food technology has cooked up better ways to prepare, package and preserve space fare in a tastier, more appetizing fashion.

All food that is sent to the space station is precooked

Sending precooked food means that it requires no refrigeration and is either ready to eat or can be prepared simply by adding water or by heating. The only exception are the fruit and vegetables stowed in the fresh food locker.

Salt and pepper are used in liquid form on the International Space Station

Seasonings like salt and pepper have to be used in liquid form and dispensed through a bottle on the space station. If they were granulated, the particles would float away before they even reached the food.

Food can taste bland in space

Some people who live in space have said that food is not the same while in microgravity. Some say that it tastes bland, some do not like their favorite foods and some love to eat foods they would never eat on Earth. We believe this phenomenon is caused by something called “stuffy head” This happens when crew member’s heads get stopped up because blood collects in the upper part of the body. For this reason, hot sauce is used A LOT on the space station to make up for the bland flavor.

Astronaut ice cream is not actually eaten on the space station

Even though astronaut ice cream is sold in many science centers and enjoyed by many people on Earth, it’s not actually sent to the space station. That said, whenever there is space in a freezer heading to orbit, the astronauts can get real ice cream onboard! 

Instead of bowls there are bags and cans

Most American food is stored in sealed bags, while most Russian food is kept in cans. 

With all these new facts about space food, you’ll have plenty to talk about over Thanksgiving dinner. 

Here’s a picture of what the crew aboard the space station will enjoy this year: 

Smoked Turkey

Candied Yams

Rehydratable Corn

Potatoes Au Gratin 

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Made some pride flags! Couldn’t decide between the two.

Daily Affirmation 386.

Your asexuality is not something you should be ashamed of. Your asexuality is not something that you should regret because of how it might affect your relationships. Your asexuality is not bad, regrettable, or shameful.

Bright Spiral Galaxy M81 : One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earths sky is similar in size to our Milky Way Galaxy: big, beautiful M81. The grand spiral galaxy can be found toward the northern constellation of the Great Bear . This superbly detailed image reveals M81s bright yellow nucleus, blue spiral arms, tell tale pinkish star forming regions, and sweeping cosmic dust lanes with a scale comparable to the Milky Way. Hinting at a disorderly past, a remarkable dust lane actually runs straight through the disk, to the left of the galactic center, contrary to M81s other prominent spiral features. The errant dust lane may be the lingering result of a close encounter between between M81 and its smaller companion galaxy, M82. Scrutiny of variable stars in M81 has yielded one of the best determined distances for an external galaxy 11.8 million light-years. M81s dwarf companion galaxy Holmberg IX can be seen just above the large spiral. via NASA

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Hubble captures stunning image of Messier 94 Galaxy showing a starburst ring.

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Earth and Moon by Expedition 24 crew member

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