Space Food, Beef Pattie, Space Shuttle

This beef pattie, a dried hamburger, is a typical menu choice for Shuttle astronauts, who choose their meals several months before flight from a list of hundreds of food items. Most foods are processed for storage at room temperature and sealed in single portions in plastic containers or foil packs, which also serve as disposable containers for heating and eating the food. Astronauts use a hot-cold water dispenser to add water through the injection port on the corner of the container and make the dehydrated food edible. NASA has transferred a variety of Shuttle foods to the Museum over the years.