Space food package of biscuit
Object No. 85/1053-1
Made in the Soviet Union, this vacuum sealed package contains bite-sized pieces of compressed biscuit. This allowed easy eating of the snack food in the weightless environment of space and did visually resemble, to some degree, the food inside. These biscuit cubes could be rehydrated and eaten with rehydrated cottage cheese cubes or other foodstuffs. Space food needs to be lightweight, compact and appealing to eat. Cubed food packages were first introduced in the early 1960s and were in use until the early 1980s. Often cubes of bread, cereal, biscuit and cake were coated in gelatine to reduce crumbs. These can be dangerous to the spacecraft affecting, among other things, the ventilation system. Many surviving examples of space food were the least popular food stuffs. They were not eaten by the cosmonauts and thus returned to Earth with them. Melissa Hulbert, Curatorial Assistant, and Andrew Jacob, Curator, 2020
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Summary
Object Statement
Meal package, space food, 'Biscuit', Soviet missions, compressed biscuit in vacuum sealed plastic, maker unknown, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, c. 1984
Physical Description
Vacuum sealed plastic 50gm package containing 10 cubes of dehydrated and compressed biscuit. On the front of the package is black bold text in both Cyrillic script ('biskvit') and English script ('biscuit') between two straight red lines and a red biscuit-shaped design. On the back, inside the package is a sheet of paper with a light blue motif with Cyrillic script ('biskvit') on it. The Cyrillic text on both sides of the package translates as ‘biscuit’.
DIMENSIONS
Height
15 mm
Width
142 mm
Depth
68 mm
SOURCE
Acquisition Date
28 June 1985
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