Originally published January 20 2005
Space station's crew runs a little short of food; former residents took more than their share
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Two astronauts on board the International Space Station had to cut back their meals late last year after they discovered that the station's previous tenants had dipped into their supplies. People on the ground had authorized a small theft, but the former residents ate even more than had been approved. American Leroy Chiao and Russian Salizhan Sharipov, had to cut their meals by about 300 calories a day while waiting for more food to arrive from Earth.
The two residents of the International Space Station ran short of food and had to cut back their meals this month thanks in part to unlikely food thieves: the previous station crew.
Leroy Chiao, the American now living on the station, confirmed during a news conference Wednesday what Russian space officials had been saying: The previous crew ate food meant for Chiao and his Russian crewmate, Salizhan Sharipov.
The previous crewmembers, American Michael Fincke and Russian Gennady Padalka, had found that their rations had grown monotonous.
So flight controllers let them break into the food supply reserved for Chiao and Sharipov.
But Fincke and Padalka did not accurately report how much of it they ate, Chiao said.
In November, NASA realized the station's cupboard was almost bare.
So it asked Chiao and Sharipov to cut their calories by about 10%, or 300 calories a day, while they waited for a cargo ship to bring more food.
"Both of us ended up losing a few pounds, but that's something I guess we can't really complain about," Chiao said.
"We looked at it as kind of a challenge, a camping adventure."
The adventure ended when the cargo ship, a Russian-made vehicle called the Progress, arrived Christmas Day as planned.
The crew made up for the loss of "real food" with a diet that any 6-year-old would love: more candy and desserts, which were abundant.
The station has been running short of food, water and other supplies because the U.S. space shuttle fleet has been grounded since the shuttle Columbia broke apart, killing its seven crewmembers, on Feb. 1, 2003.
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