Chat with Janis Davis-Street, Nutritionist
NASA Johnson Space Center
April 15,1998 - 10:00 a.m.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 11 - 10:07:27 ]
Welcome to today's chat with Janis Davis-Street from NASA Johnson Space Center! Janis is a nutritionist and works in the life sciences. She is part of a team whose job is finding out what foods and nutrients are important for the astronauts as they venture into space. Janis is also an active participant in the Neurolab and Space Team Online projects, at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron and http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space, respectively. We're happy Janis has volunteered to chat with us today, as part of the WITN Career Segments series.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 12 - 10:07:56 ]
And now, here is Janis Davis-Street to answer your questions.

[ JanisNASA - 13 - 10:09:28 ]
Hi there everyone

[ JanisNASA - 17 - 10:12:20 ]
Lacey - I think we would probably have to cope with the absence of gravity as best we can. I don't think the Russians have figured that out yet either.

[ JanisNASA - 18 - 10:14:16 ]
The plans for the International Space Station are underway. We begin sending the component parts this year. Hopefully we'll have a complete space station in the early 21st century. And who knows - maybe a space city will be next.

[ JanisNASA - 21 - 10:18:36 ]
RE: [lacey-lacey/NorthPowderJuniorHigh] Dear Janis are we working towards people living on a space city? If so in how many years?
Lacey - I think the immediate plans are for a space station. About 4 astronauts will live there for several months. They will work, eat, sleep there. Maybe the next step in our future will be a space city.

[ JanisNASA - 25 - 10:21:36 ]
RE: [lacey-lacey/NorthPowderJuniorHigh] Do you know how it feels to be weightless?
I haven't had that experience myself. Several of our co-workers have flown on the KC-135 which simulates (acts as) microgravity while it does parabolas. People can actually float at that time as they did in the movie Apollo-13. We are able to test many of our hardware and techniques there.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 29 - 10:23:45 ]
RE: [SecondGrade-KarenJ.Massey] Hi! We are second graders from Fort Worth, Texas. We have some group questions today. Our first question is How many meals do the astornauts need to keep healthy?
Welcome, Karen Massey's class. We're glad to have you online again today!

[ JanisNASA - 30 - 10:23:52 ]
RE: [Casey-Jean/JeffersonElementary] How much food supply would it be possible to carry?
For shuttle flights the astronauts take approximately 3000kcal of food for each day of fligt and htis more than enough to meet their needs. On the longer missions - like to the Mir Space Station supply ships resupply the food supply.

[ JanisNASA - 31 - 10:24:45]
RE:[Ravi-KarenJ.Massey] How much food do the Astronauts need to take in space to last one day?
About 3000 kcal a day.

[ JanisNASA - 32 - 10:24:45]
RE:[Kyle-Jean/JeffersonElementary] How old were you when you became a nutritionist at the Johnson Space Center?
I was 29 years.

[ JanisNASA - 34 - 10:25:42]
RE:[lacey-lacey/NorthPowderJuniorHigh] How many people could be able to live on the space station?
Right now 3-person crews are being named for the International Space Station. For more information on the Space Station, check out http://station.nasa.gov

[ JanisNASA - 35 - 10:25:53 ]
RE: [SecondGrade-KarenJ.Massey] Hi! We are second graders from Fort Worth, Texas. We have some group questions today. Our first question is How many meals do the astornauts need to keep healthy?
The astronauts need the same amount of food that they do on earth for the shuttle flights. For long missions we recommend similar amounts as well. During the longer missions we are more concerned about specific nutrents, especially those that are related to bones like Vitamin D and calcium, also water, salt and iron intakes.

[ JanisNASA - 36 - 10:26:01]
RE:[Ashley-Jean/JeffersonElementary] How long have you worked for the Johnson Space Center?
I've been at NASA since 1991.

[ JanisNASA - 39 - 10:27:01 ]
RE: [Robert-Lee/BlockerMiddleSchool] Dear Mrs. Davis-Street, Mars has ice caps. Does the ice contain minerals that can be found on earth and if so, could we plant food on Mars? Student, Robert Blocker Middle School
I'm not sure what the specifics are for that. I know we are are working on growing several crops hydroponically for the Mars mission.

[ JanisNASA - 42 - 10:28:09 ]
RE: [Amanda-Jean/JeffersonElementary] Does the food taste good and how do you eat it?
Most of the foods are just like Earth food only in spacial packages. Some of them get rave reviews - like shrimp cocktail.

[ JanisNASA - 43 - 10:30:25 ]
RE: [Trent-Jean/JeffersonElementary] What is in an astronaut's diet in space?
Very similar to that on Earth. We are not able to send a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables as they will spoil. Also we don't have freezers or fridges so the food has to be specially packaged. Some are also dehydrated when they are sent up - the astronauts then add water when it's meal time.

[ JanisNASA - 44 - 10:30:47 ]
RE: [Ian-Jean/JeffersonElementary] Are the food needs of the astronaut different in space than on earth - like how much food they need.
Food needs are very simimlar

[ JanisNASA - 48 - 10:33:17 ]
RE: [lacey-lacey/NorthPowderJuniorHigh] What type of food is the easiest to transport?
The food scientists at NASA work very hard to make the package sizes optimal to minimize waste and volume. Some of the foods are in cans, other are in pouches (like the army MREs), others are in special packages which allow them to be rehydrated.

[ JanisNASA - 51 - 10:34:50 ]
RE: [SecondGrade-KarenJ.Massey] How long will you stay in space?
I don't think I'm brave enough to stay in space. Our astronauts have been in space for up to 3-4 months on the space station, and 21 or so days on the shuttle

[ JanisNASA - 52 - 10:35:46 ]
RE: [Kyle-Jean/JeffersonElementary] Do you launch any shuttels off in the winter?
Our shuttles launch throughout the year.

[ JanisNASA - 54 - 10:36:17 ]
RE: [Brian-KarenJ.Massey] Do the astronauts get to eat sweets?
Yes they do - M and Ms are a favorite for some astronauts.

[ JanisNASA - 57 - 10:37:30 ]
RE: [Amber-KarenJ.Massey] How many astroauts are going to be with you when your in space?
Crews range in number - some are as few as 3 (on the Mir Space Station) others can be 8 in number (Shuttle).

[ JanisNASA - 58 - 10:38:46 ]
RE: [Emily-Jean/JeffersonElementary] What is the food with the highest fat content that astronaut's can safely eat in space?
Emily - that's a hard one to answer. Our data shows that fat intake is not too high on the Shuttle.

[ JanisNASA - 60 - 10:39:45 ]
RE: [Danny-Jean/JeffersonElementary] If people did live in space, how would they resupply their food?
We would send suppluy ships - that's actually how it is doen for the Russian Space Station Mir where Andy Thomas the 7th US astronaut is right now.

[ JanisNASA - 61 - 10:40:31 ]
RE: [Kyle-Jean/JeffersonElementary] Have you ever been inside a space shuttle to stock the food?
No - but I've gotten to go through the trash from the Shuttle when it returned

[ JanisNASA - 64 - 10:41:55]
RE:[Danny-Jean/JeffersonElementary] If you could take pets how would you feed them?
I'm not too sure about how I'd handle pets. However, animals have been flown and fed on the Shuttle in several shuttle missions.

[ JanisNASA - 67 - 10:43:45 ]
RE: [MrBerg-Jean/JeffersonElementary] How do the astronauts keep their muscles from shrinking in outer space?
Scientists have been working very hard to minimize muscle and bone loss. One of the ways is to exercise. Typically the astronauts do several forms of exercise - cycling, treadmill as well as resitive type exercises using bungees, to keep their muscle mass up. Eating enough food is also very important as you can imagine.

[ JanisNASA - 70 - 10:45:07 ]
RE: [SecondGrade-KarenJ.Massey] What kind of food do you feed the astornauts to keep them healthy?
The foods are very much like the food we eat on Earth - vegetables, meats, some canned fruits, tortillas, stews, are all on the menu. There are several food items to choose from.

[ JanisNASA - 71 - 10:46:23 ]
RE: [TouVue-Jean/JeffersonElementary] What are the problems of eating food while in space?
The foods float - so I guess you have to be real careful. A lot of the packaging is designed to minimize spillage.

[ JanisNASA - 73 - 10:47:16 ]
RE: [Christine-KarenJ.Massey] What is the most popular food that thay eat?
It varies according to personal tastes - I know shrimp coktail is frequently named as a favorite.

[ JanisNASA - 74 - 10:48:54 ]
RE: [MrsWetzsteon-Jean/JeffersonElementary] Do you consult with the astronauts and find out their dietary preferences?
Another group at NASA does the direct interaction with the crew in designing their menus etc. We focus more on doing the reaserch which determines how much of the different nutrients are needed during space flight.

[ JanisNASA - 76 - 10:50:34 ]
RE: [hank-KarenJ.Massey] Do astronauts eat ice cream in space?
Probably not in a cone. I've heard they have freeze dried icecream - which is just as delicious (I think).

[ JanisNASA - 78 - 10:51:34 ]
RE: [AmandaG-Jean/JeffersonElementary] Have you ever known about any astronauts who have gotten sick on a flight and what would they do?
No first hand info. The data shows that some astronauts get motion sickness in the early day or too. I think they are able to recover from that quite well.

[ JanisNASA - 79 - 10:52:02 ]
RE: [Emily-KarenJ.Massey] Are any of the astonauts on special diets?
No - they are all free to eat from the Shuttle menu

[ JanisNASA - 82 - 10:53:50 ]
RE: [AmandaS-Jean/JeffersonElementary] What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I love music - almost in any form. I also love drama. I sing in my church choir and love going to the theatre. Most of all I enjoy being a Mum.

[ JanisNASA - 84 - 10:54:48 ]
RE: [Allyson-KarenJ.Massey] Do the astronauts need to eat at a certian time?
The astronauts are usually very busy, however, time is scheduled for meals.

[ JanisNASA - 86 - 10:56:25 ]
RE: [MrsWetzsteon-Jean/JeffersonElementary] Have you changed the nutrition requirements for the astronauts over the past few years?
As we have spent longer days in space we have updated the requirements to address this. We typically invite the experts in nutrition to NASA and they come up with the recommendations based on what we know happens to the body in space. We will have lots of opportunity to refine the requirements as we do more space exploration.

[ JanisNASA - 87 - 10:58:16 ]
RE: [Leah-KarenJ.Massey] What is the mission about next week?
Neurolab will focus on the effect of space on the nervous systems, including the neurivestibular system. Check out the Neurolab web page.

[ JanisNASA - 90 - 10:59:45 ]
RE: [TaylorG-KarenJ.Massey] What time do the astrnots eat lunch,dinner and breakfast?
I'm not sure what the specific times are - sorry

[ class-Jean/JeffersonElementary - 91 - 10:59:47 ]
Thank you so much for answering our questions today. We enjoy chatting with Johnson Space Center empolyees.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 92 - 11:00:09 ]
EVERYONE, thank you for joining us today. We will need to end today's chat with Janis Davis-Street from NASA Johnsons Space Center for now. A special thanks to Janis for chatting with us today!

[ JanisNASA - 93 - 11:00:47 ]
Thanks everyone for your interesting questions. I really enjoyed 'chatting' with all of you.

[ Jean/JeffersonElementary - 94 - 11:01:53 ]
Goodbye!

[ KarenJ.Massey - 95 - 11:02:12 ]
Thank you very much.