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TL;DR:
The problem is growing leafy plants like lettuce and spinach in space can come with a side dish of bacteria, according to a new study from a team at the University of Delaware. In tests on plants grown in simulated microgravity, they were shown to actually be more susceptible than normal to the Salmonella enterica pathogen.
Sounds like not a big problem at all. Seems like they'll just have to use appropriate cleaning methods. Even in the worst case scenario they would probably just have to use food irradiation.
https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-irradiation-what-you-need-know
EDIT
In fact reading my own link i learned that they ALREADY irradiate food that astronauts eat
Would they be able to do that in the space station though?
Sounds more like it’s irradiated on earth and sent up.
Just have a window with no radiation shielding in the glass. 😁
(Jokes aside, I think irradiating food uses radiation specifically in the gamma range, but it's been a long time since I've read up on it).
I was gonna half heartedly suggest just opening the airlock for 20 minutes while facing the sun /s
Yes, irradiation on a space station would be very easy
Yes, but safely and properly are a different thing entirely.
No, it would be trivial
…. Than why is it only used on a few foods currently if it’s so easy and simple?
Because the general population is dumb and when they hear the word radiation they get freaked out and want nothing to do with it
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/food-irradiation
Nah, you’re just talking out of your ass, look at the size of equipment and the regulations that go into irradiating food and you would see why it’s not feasible in/on the space station.
Also, looks at the list of acceptable foods that can be irradiated for astronauts, ifs also different than what the public has access too.
I’m pointing out it’s far more involved than you think.
Because the general population is dumb
Yes they are if they think it’s that simple to irradiate food properly and safely in the space station and it’s “trivial”. If it was, it would be being done already…
Look at the link i added
What does that prove about irradiating in the space station? Have you seen the regulations and equipment that go into it? I really don’t even know what you think that’s proving in this exchange.
If it was simple and trivial, why are they not doing it on the space station? Because it’s not simple… it’s not easy… and it’s just not feasible….
The link shows you that it can be done on any food, and that the only reason why it hasn't be accepted by the public is because of fear about the word.
To your additional objections, do a an image search of the machines and you'll see that the non-miniaturized versions that are made for industrial scale mass production products are like 4x4x2 feet for the actual functional machine part of it
But hey, believe whatever you wanna believe
It can be done on any food, but look at NASAs list for what is acceptable…. Different agencies are involved with different standards.
Just because it’s easy on earth doesn’t correlate to space… this exchange even started in a post of a an article about this exact thing….
You are right people are dumb yeesh.
Edit, read your own links….
At present, human spaceflight is confined to low Earth orbit but, in future, will again go to the Moon and, beyond, to Mars. The provision of food during these extended missions will need to meet the special nutritional and psychosocial needs of the crew. Terrestrially grown and processed food products, currently provided for consumption by astronauts/cosmonauts, have not yet been systematically optimised to maintain their nutritional integrity and reach the shelf-life necessary for extended space voyages. Notably, space food provisions for Mars exploration will be subject to extended exposure to galactic cosmic radiation and solar particle events, the impact of which is not fully understood. In this review, we provide a summary of the existing knowledge about current space food products, the impact of radiation and storage on food composition, the identification of radiolytic biomarkers and identify gaps in our knowledge that are specific in relation to the effect of the cosmic radiation on food in space.
That quote doesn't say what you seem to think it says. Anyway, I'm done with this fruitless conversation now. See ya around
It shows the challenges and the unknowns of doing it in space….
It’s to show you it’s not as simple as you are making it out to be…. But of course you’re not going to comprehend that as you’ve already established how stupid some people are.
Isn't biofilm a problem in general? From what I've heard, Mir was covered in grime at the end and the ISS isn't looking much better now.
The ISS has a very strict cleaning regime. Essentially every work minute not spent on research or maintenance is for cleaning. I think to remember that they even have one day a week when all they do is clean.
Chipotle: Salmonella lettuce? I don't see the problem.
They didn't charge $0.50 extra for it.
Now it's a feature not a bug. Of course they are going to charge extra for it.
