“Nothing is left to chance; all food is tested for safety and taste-tested by astronauts themselves.”

But if your job is located inouter space, the consequences are a little more serious.

Astronauts have some degree of food choices, but the foods are often packed months ahead of time.

A hand is carving a raw cut of meat with a knife on a cutting board

But with all the advances in food technology, there are some foods that are just terrible in space.

Turns out, space experts have five types of foods that they would advise against consuming in space.

Nothing would be more miserable than having vomiting or [worse] in orbit, Kloeris said.

Packets of MRE (Meals Ready-to-Eat) are spread out on a dirt surface, likely at a distribution site

Microgravity would make things very messy and smelly, all in close quarters.

There are eight general categories of food that astronauts can eat according toNASA.

Thermostabilized foods are processed with heat and include food items like canned fish, fruit and vegetables.

A variety of crackers arranged in a woven basket, including round, square, and rectangular shapes with different textures and toppings

Nothing is left to chance; all food is tested for safety and taste-tested by astronauts themselves.

A nutritionist reviews the astronauts preferred menus to ensure they have a balanced meal.

But unfortunately, they could wreak major havoc in space.

A close-up of a bowl of cooked white rice, ready to be served

But the high salt content would worsen one of the known side effects of microgravity bone density loss.

Significant exercise helps reduce bone density and muscle weakening, but diet plays a role.

Crumbly Food

Nothing is quite as satisfactory as the crunch of a crisp potato chip.

A group of people clinks glasses of beer together at a casual gathering with food on a table

But chips, breads and other foods that produce crumbs are risky in space.

It all comes down to microgravity.

On Earth, crumbs just fall to the floor.

Close-up of assorted Turkish delights on the left and a pile of dates on the right

Instead, astronauts predominantly use tortillas in place of bread.

Other options are bite-sized crackers and cookies that can be eaten whole without many crumbs.

Bland Food

No one particularly likes bland food, but it is a particular issue in space.Dr.

This has an impact on their sense of smell and taste.

But it is not just a matter of wanting to taste their food.

Not only does food provide nutritional benefits, but eating tasty food also has psychological benefits.

What combines everyone together?

Food brings the crew together and encourages social bonding and team building, Kloeris noted.

The agency was not even sure if humans could eat in space.

And the first foods sent up were mashed potatoes or pureed spaghetti.

Alcohol

Having a glass of bubbly sounds like a perfect thing to drink while gazing back on the earth.

But NASA and the International Space Station have banned alcohol.

Property damage in space would be a huge problem.

In time, NASA learned that when recycling water and air, ethanol does not break down.

Wan said that the firstKorean astronaut, Soyeon Yi, brought kimchi to space in 2008.

But long-term space travel to Mars and beyond will need innovative solutions to keep astronauts happy and healthy.