HOUSTON – Whether at a future Moon base or a trip to Mars and beyond, astronauts will most likely use some of Yael Vodovotz’s research efforts each time they sit down to eat.
Vodovotz, 32, a post-doctoral aerospace fellow at Johnson Space Center and the University of Houston is developing techniques for astronauts on long-term missions to produce their own food.
"On an extended mission, you’d want to reduce the number of consumables because it’ll be expensive money and cargo wise," said Vodovotz who is a member of JSC’s food working group in the Advanced Life Support Program.
Vodovotz earned her doctorate in food science at the University of Massachusetts and thought seriously about pursuing art as a career rather than science, though chemistry has fascinated her since high school.
"It was a real conflict -- chemistry or art school?" she said. "I love art and while getting my doctorate, I learned about jewelry making."
Instead she wound up in the post-doctoral program here where she spends part of her time teaching a class on space food at the University of Houston.
"It’s kinda cool. The students do a project on an advanced life support product and calculate and test it," she said.
Vodovotz said she likes keeping busy.
"I need to be occupied all the time and not working on just one thing," she said. "I don’t like to wait around."
Developing food programs for future space missions is several projects rolled into one. Everything from food safety, ease of preparation and to compatibility with the spacecraft’s systems must be considered.
"We come up with the equipment, edible material and every ingredient," she said. "There’s a lot of unanswered questions in every category we’re working on."
Her work may involve food, but Vodovoditz jokes that she doesn’t cook much at home.
"I don’t like to cook that much. My husband does some though," she said. "At work I don’t actually do much with food."
Vodovotz and her husband, Neal Hooker, a post-doctorate fellow in economics at Texas A&M University spend a lot of their free time traveling, she said.
"It’s my number one hobby," she said. "I love to travel and meeting people from different places."
Among the couple’s destinations have been Japan and Europe. They plan on visiting Hooker’s family in England in September.
At home, she said she reads classic literature and watching lots of movies.
Vodovotz said she never thought she would work at NASA, but was always interested in working there.
"Every day is a new day around here," she said. "It seemed strange to be part of the space program, but after a while it becomes part of your world."
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