Freshly Baked Bread On Mars? Not As Far-Fetched As You May Think!

Mention Space cuisine and images of freeze dried pre-packaged bland food come to mind. However, astronauts for most part don't seem to care - They have more exciting things to ponder over, than what's on the menu. But if scientists are planning to go on excursions to Mars and beyond, this shrink-wrapped cuisine will not be the ideal solution and, it has nothing to do with taste.

There are two reasons for this. First of course is the astronomical (literally) cost of transporting anything to outer Space - Currently, a single pound of food shipped to the International Space Station costs $10,000 USD. So, one can only imagine how prohibitive it will be, to send it all the way to Mars.

And, even if the cost factor can be overcome, there is another issue to consider - Since sending emergency supplies is not an option, how to fit enough food into the already tight shuttle space to last the astronauts for two to three years which, is the estimated time it will take to get to Mars and back. Given how much room pre-packaged food with all its shrink wrapping takes, this could be a tricky task.