Is frying food possible in space?

The meals we eat determines how we really feel, and nothing beats a superb fry-up, though carefully after all. As we put together for missions to the moon and on to Mars, astronauts can be glad to listen to from researchers that one staple consolation meals is just not out of attain, even in space: fries.

ESA has been supporting analysis in frying cooking methods in microgravity to fill in data gaps on Earth and in space. Despite the fact that frying potatoes is finished in every single place around the globe, it includes advanced physics and chemistry, and in space every thing turns into extra difficult. It was no positive factor that frying would work with out gravity. With out buoyancy pulling upwards, bubbles may follow the floor of a potato, shielding the potato in a layer of steam that researchers thought may go away it undercooked and undesirable.

“Ask any chef and they’re going to affirm that the physics and chemistry behind food is a posh and engaging topic that bubbles over to different science disciplines,” says Professor Thodoris Karapantsios from the Aristotle College of Thessaloniki, and member of the analysis group behind the research. The paper was printed within the Meals Analysis Worldwide journal.

Parabolic arc

To check how microgravity influences cooking methods similar to frying, a novel experimental carousel-type equipment was designed be protected whereas additionally function in weightlessness. The experiments had been carried out on two ESA parabolic flight campaigns, whereby an plane flies in repeated arcs to recreate temporary moments of weightlessness.

The experiment filmed the frying course of with a high-speed, high-resolution camera to seize the bubble dynamics similar to growth rate, dimension and distribution, in addition to the escape velocity from the potato, the bubbles’ pace and path of journey within the oil. The experiment measured the temperature of the boiling oil in addition to temperatures contained in the potato.

The experiment {hardware} is automated and closed for security. It maintains a continuing strain contained in the frying chamber to keep away from leaks, to stop the oil from sloshing round and to make use of much less power in heating.

Fries on Mars

The researchers from the College of Thessaloniki, Greece, discovered that shortly after the potato was added to the oil in low gravity circumstances, vapor bubbles indifferent simply from the potato floor equally to on Earth. Whereas extra analysis is required to fine-tune some parameters, it does point out that astronauts will be capable to have greater than re-hydrated meals on the menu as they discover new worlds.

“Other than vitamin and luxury, learning the method of frying in space might additionally result in developments in numerous fields, from conventional boiling to producing hydrogen from solar energy in microgravity,” concludes John Lioumbas from the group.