"Women diet more, so they seem to have a better concept of what theyre eating every day," she said. "The men think that is way more than they eat, but its not."
Kloeris determines the caloric content based on a formula of sex, weight, height and age.
Most of the items are purchased at grocery stores in the Houston area one month before launch, repackaged and refrigerated before the shuttle flight. Kloeris counterpart at Kennedy Space Center purchases fresh food about 18 to 24 hours before launch.
If the launch delays more than 24 hours, the fresh food gets restocked on the shuttle, she said.
So there wont be any surprises in orbit, JSC hosts a tasting session for the astronauts to choose their meals about nine months before flight. Items from the shuttle menu are available for sampling along with fresh food that must be consumed early in the mission since the shuttle carries no refrigerator or freezer to save weight and space.
Dehydrated shrimp cocktail remains the astronauts consistent favorite. Former astronaut Story Musgrave always flew with it.
"It was Storys most favorite item," Kloeris said. "He would eat it at least two times a day."
Space agency dieticians use a lot of tricks to preserve the food, reduce weight and still make it appetizing. Some food is dehydrated, while others are dried much like beef jerky. Many of the meat products are treated with high heat to kill microorganisms. Currently the only item irradiated is beefsteak.
Dieticians also try to accommodate different tastes and needs. Janice Voss, the payload commander for the upcoming Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, is a vegetarian and said there was no problem finding something to eat.
"The vegetarian part is pretty easy to handle," Voss said. "We get to pick our own menus and there are quite a few vegetarian foods on the regular menus."
"We try to make special accommodation for vegetarian crew members," Kloeris said. "Well add additional items to give her a wider variety."
Voss will dine on entrees such as navy bean soup and broccoli-stuffed potatoes along with delicacies such as dried pears, energy bars and peanuts.
The space agency also bought some commercially available freeze-dried foods to round out her menu, she said.
Voss jokingly said her main concern is that there is enough chocolate aboard space shuttle Endeavour.
"Were a chocoholic crew," she said. "Chocolate is vegetarian, so its not an issue with me."
Foreign astronauts also add their own national fare to make meal times a bit more exciting.
Decembers Hubble rescue mission aboard Discovery had an international flair. Jean-François Clervoy, a French astronaut, brought foie gras and duck breast to share with the crew. Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier brought chocolate pieces shaped like the Hubble Space Telescope and Parmesan cheese.
Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri plans on carrying curry and rice which he said was a big hit on his previous flight. Hes discovered one phenomenon he cant quite explain though.
"It tastes better in space than on the ground. Thats very strange," Mohri said.
European Space Agency astronaut Gerhard Thiele said he didnt have time to think up some German delicacies to carry.
"Shuttle food is OK with me," he said. "I dont need any special German dishes, but I am carrying some German chocolate into space."
Though the space shuttle menu might look pretty close to a familys grocery list, one item typically doesnt get carried aloft bread. Food particles, particularly breadcrumbs, can be the bane of the shuttles delicate electronic systems and equipment.
Instead, since 1985, shuttles have a carried a Houston favorite found at any Mexican restaurant or taco stand flour tortillas.
Astronauts consume the average terrestrial tortilla purchased by the space agency from a local bakery. As the mission goes on, hungry astronauts switch a high-tech tortilla produced at JSC.
Unlike their counterparts found in restaurants, NASAs re-engineered tortillas are mold resistant. The specially formulated tortillas are produced at JSC with less water than normal and packaged in a plastic bag filled with nitrogen. Kloeris said the tortillas have a shelf life of up to three months.
Preparing a meal in space isnt much different than on an airliner or sailboat. Each shuttle has a galley equipped with a convection oven and hot and cold water taps. Meals are stored in food lockers in the order they are eaten.
To prevent the trays from floating away, a net keeps them in place, while hook and pile fasteners keep the individual items on the trays.
Mealtime is similar to being on Earth except that the food tray is secured to a wall or to the astronauts lap by a strap. In addition to a fork, knife and spoon, each astronaut has a pair of scissors to open packages. At the end of the meal, trash is placed in a container beneath the mid-deck floor and utensils are washed for later use.
Back on the ground, unopened leftovers dont get tossed out.
Kloeris said the food will not fly again, but be used for astronaut training exercises and simulations.
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