Astronaut Has 'Wasabi Spill' in Space

Sda~ writes "You learn something new everyday: There is nothing in the astronaut training manual about how to clean up flying wasabi. An inadvertent Wasabi spill this week aboard the ISS has made space agencies re-evaluate including the spicy paste in future meals. The astronauts are allowed some of their favorite foods on each trip, to alleviate homesickness. 'Williams, whose father was born in India, has several Indian dishes in her bonus container, including Punjabi kadhi with pakora - vegetable fritters topped with yogurt and curry - and mutter paneer, a curry dish. The dishes are packaged to have a long shelf life in space. Her U.S. crew mate, astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, is an even bigger foodie. Lopez-Alegria, who was born in Madrid but grew up in California, had Spanish muffins known as magdalenas, chorizo pork sausage and latte in his bonus container.'"

Re:Fan and filter on a tennis racket

[MichaelSmith]

I'm surprised they don't create a tennis racket-like device with a low-RPM multibladed fan and an accordian fine-mesh screen.

They already have fans and filters, but it won't help if the wasabi is already sticking to something like a wall, some equipment, or a person. Cleaning up is an issue because water and cleaning materials are in short supply.

It would be interesting to calculate the internal surface are of the ISS down to a reasonable scale. It must be several square kilometers, at least.

Re:Hmmm...

[hey!]

Well, a nice maki holds together well.

The problem is condiments.

For your Shoyu, I suggest a sponge. Natural of course. For all I know there's probably a species of sponge that is sushi. Place the sponge in a cylindrical container slightly larger than your roll, with a snap top. When you are ready to eat, you open the snap top and push your roll down into the container.

Now -- for the wasabi. Condiments are tricky. One should start by asking -- why are condiments served on the side? Apart from differences in persional taste, the main reason is to keep liquids from migrating from the food to the condiment or vice versa, which would degrade the texture of the food, as well as cause a loss of identity between the two. This is why "peanut butter crackers" don't have normal peanut butter. Instead they have a rather dessicated, de-oiled peanut paste. If they put regular peanut butter in them, then the peanut butter would end up that way, but the cracker would turn to mush.

So, I'm thinking a thin, tasteless cellulose polymer, formulated to have moisture barrier properties, sprayed on the surface of your sushi. We then apply the wasabi -- the less assembly done in space, the fewer chances for screwups, whether we're talking equipment or food. Since you only need a small amount of wasabi, it might be feasible to introduce gelatin or some other binding agent to give the wasabi greater adhering power. You don't want spray anything on the wasabi, since you are supposed to taste it on contact. Most other sushi ingredience release their full flavor after being bitten or masticated.

Thin films -- after to an inanimate carbon rod, the next unsung hero of the space program.

air contaminants

[Jeff1946]

I have advised the folks who work on analyzing the air in the ISS. I talked to an astronaut about things that concerned them getting into the air. She said Tabasco sauce was one concern. With zero gravity a drop could float around and accidently be inhaled or get into your eye. Eventually the air filtration system will capture it. One of the effects of zero g on the human body is the redistribution of fluids which causes a loss of taste. This is why the astronauts like to add spicyness to their foods.

Re:How to clean up flying wasabi

[badasscat]

FYI Most space wasabi is actually horseradish.

The description in the summary did have me wondering. Wasabi is not really a "paste", and the real Japanese condiment does not exhibit the properties of a liquid. It's more like the consistency of slightly damp clay powder. It would almost seem like the perfect condiment to take into space because it's not liquid enough to spill, nor is it solid or powdery enough for the granules to get into anything (like, say, salt would).

But if it's really just colored horseradish, that would explain things. Horseradish doesn't need to be a liquid either but it typically is when packaged as a condiment.

I guess my point is, it sounds like the solution to this problem is for NASA to upgrade the quality of their wasabi!

Re:Chorizo? Score!

[drig]

It's easy enough to make. Take a good fatty, but not grisly, cut of pork. Like the butt (which is the shoulder) or even some of the trimmings off cheap pork chops. Add chili powder. Grind. I've made it in my food processor and it was easily as good as any I had in Mexico. I use the Chili powder from Penzys spices.

OT: "the NASA"?

[dosquatch]

"the NASA"? I know it would be "the National Aeronautics and Space Administration", but I've always seen the acronym "NASA" used as its own proper noun. i.e., "NASA said..." rather than "The NASA said..."

I'm seriously not trying to play language nazi here, I'm really curious. It seems like if it would be "the National Aeronautics [...]", then it should also be "the NASA" (especially considering how much noise is thrown up about "ATM Machine" being redundant), unless NASA is some sort of an exception?

Re:OT: "the NASA"?

[Yvanhoe]

Well in my case I didn't thought too much about it. My native language is French and we say "la NASA". Feminine form because "Administration" is feminine in French. I suspect that I make a lot of mistake using "the" in inappropriate places...