A Small Taste of a Big Dream
The kitchen at JSC has a new team member for the next three months! Eugene Garza, a college freshman and second year student in the Career Exploration Program (CEP), has been given the opportunity to develop, categorize, and select food that will be delivered to the International Space Station. Eugene was presented with this opportunity during his CEP job in the Habitability and Environmental Factors Division (HEFD), where he works under his mentor, the HEFD Deputy Chief, Dr. Antony Jeevarajan.
During his Food Lab assignment, Eugene got a taste of just how much work it takes to prepare space food. From buying the food, cooking the food, freeze-drying the food, to packaging and labeling the food, the multi-step process is tedious and not as easy as it sounds. Each kind of food must be placed in its own container and matched with the correct labels, which is a time consuming task that Eugene describes as “preparing a feast for Thanksgiving.” The freeze-dried food is then edible for up to eight years and varies from peaches to shrimp fried rice.
Eugene describes this opportunity as a great experience that he never dreamed he would work on, and a definite highlight of his time in CEP. The food that Eugene is helping to prepare will go up in hundreds of containers on three different missions, including the Shuttle, Russian Soyuz, and Japan HTV.
Aspiring to someday be the first astronaut who becomes a flight director, Eugene views the Food Lab experience as a milestone in the journey to achieving his dream. He is currently attending San Jacinto College and pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Eugene gives credit to the CEP Program for providing opportunities to reach his goals and paving a way for his future.