Dec 14, 2009

John Yembrick Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 john yembrick-1@nasa gov

William Jeffs Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 william p jeffs@nasa gov

MEDIA ADVISORY: M09-238

NASA ASTRONAUT, FOOD SCIENTIST AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS ABOUT HOLIDAY FEASTS IN SPACE

HOUSTON -- Irradiated smoked turkey, thermostabilized yams and NASA's own special stuffing recipe can mean only one thing -- holiday season aboard the International Space Station

NASA food scientist Vickie Kloeris and astronaut Sandy Magnus, who was aboard the orbiting laboratory during the 2008 holiday season, are available the week of Dec 14-18 to discuss how the traditional holiday feast can be observed in space To arrange an interview, media representatives should contact the newsroom at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston at 281-483-5111

Station Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Maxim Suraev are currently the sole residents aboard the complex They will spend the holidays with three new crew members NASA astronaut T J Creamer, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi are set to arrive on the station Dec 22 after launching on a Soyuz spacecraft on Dec 20 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan

Although they may not get the home cooking people on Earth enjoy this season, the station crew can celebrate with a well-stocked, and by all accounts tasty, pantry The view from their table, speeding 220 miles above Earth at five miles per second, cannot be beat

Space food has come a long way from the early days of "tubes and cubes " The current station's menu includes more than 250 different food and beverage items provided by the U S and Russia Foods from other partner nations also are available on the station's menu

Kloeris is the manager of the International Space Station Food System Magnus served as a flight engineer for the 18th station crew During the three months she spent in orbit, Magnus kept a journal about her experiences of cooking in space Her efforts to spice up food aboard the station are detailed at:

http://www nasa gov/externalflash/magnus_cook

For more information about space food, visit:

http://spaceflight nasa gov/living/spacefood

For the latest information about the space station, visit:

http://www nasa gov/station

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