They also measured the temperature of the boiling oil and the potato's interior. With the help of a high-speed, high-resolution camera, they captured the dynamics of the bubbles, including their growth rate, size, distribution, and escape velocity from the potato's surface. These flights ascended to an altitude of at least 20,000 feet and then rapidly descended, providing approximately 22 seconds of microgravity during which the potatoes were fried. Then, they conducted two flight campaigns with a specially designed aircraft that created brief moments of weightlessness through parabolic flight manoeuvres. To keep that from happening, the scientists developed a new, fully closed deep fryer. In fact, just a few months back, ISRO chief S Somanath revealed that Indian astronauts would carry idlis with sambar powder and coconut chutney during the Gaganyaan mission.īut if dehydrated idlis are not your thing, you will be happy to know that astronauts might soon have access to some crispy, deep-fried vadas in the future.Ī team of scientists at ESA recently decided to see if potatoes could be cooked to a level of edibility in microgravity and have made golden fries with a side of scientific breakthrough in the process!

However, times are changing, and the quality of food available to astronauts in space is slowly improving. Let's face it, no matter how hard researchers try, the dry, paste-like food that astronauts have to slurp out of anti-float packaging can never match up to a greasy burger. But one of the greatest sacrifices they make is all the amazing food on Earth. Months, and sometimes years, of gruelling training aside, most of them end up facing long-term health problems. While astronauts get to do tons of cool stuff, their lives are hardly as glamorous as pop culture has painted them to be.

Download potato bubbles recipe