🎧 Space Food with Vickie Kloeris
I speak with the author of "Space Bites" and retired NASA food scientist about how to meal plan for astronauts.
Have you ever wondered what and how astronauts eat in outer space? A lot of thought and scientific planning is required to design a space menu! This week on the show, Dr. Quave speaks with Vickie Kloeris, author of “Space Bites” and retired NASA food scientist with over 34 years of experience. Vickie shares her journey from food microbiology to managing NASA’s food systems for space missions and the International Space Station. They cover topics like how to create shelf-stable, crumb-free foods for astronauts and also explore how space food has evolved over the years. They also discuss nutrition and what it may take to reach a point of sustainable food systems for future missions to Mars.
About Vickie
Vickie L. Kloeris retired from NASA where she worked in space food systems for 34 years. For 29 of those years, she served as the NASA manager of first the Shuttle and then the International Space Station food systems. Vickie has been a member of IFT, the professional organization for food scientists, since 1978 and has received their designation of Certified Food Scientist. She has received several awards including NASA’s highest civilian award, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 2019. During her career, she was twice awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and received the Johnson Space Center Director’s Commendation Award. In 2017, she was given an Outstanding Alumni Award by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at her alma mater, Texas A&M University. She has managed both the Shuttle and International Space Station NASA food systems and has written a book about my career entitled "Space Bites: Reflections of a NASA Food Scientist".
Listen to the interview
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Watch the video
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Yours in health, Dr. Quave
Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D. is a Guggenheim Fellow, CNN Champion for Change, Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, recipient of The National Academies Award for Excellence in Science Communication, and award-winning author of The Plant Hunter. Her day job is as professor and herbarium curator at Emory University School of Medicine, where she leads a group of research scientists studying medicinal plants to find new life-saving drugs from nature. She hosts the Foodie Pharmacology podcast and writes the Nature’s Pharmacy newsletter to share the science behind natural medicines. To support her effort, consider a paid or founding subscription or donation to her lab research.
