KSC-06pd1291

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, John Hoog gets ready to pack the food containers with the meals prepared for the crew of mission STS-121. Hoog is a USA-FCE/EVA representative from Johnson Space Center.Astronauts select their own menus from a large array of food items. Astronauts are supplied with three balanced meals, plus snacks. Foods flown on space missions are researched and developed at the Space Food Systems Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, which is staffed by food scientists, dietitians and engineers. Foods are analyzed through nutritional analysis, sensory evaluation, storage studies, packaging evaluations and many other methods. Each astronaut’s food is stored aboard the space shuttle and is identified by a colored dot affixed to each package. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121 is scheduled for July 1. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller