Like any other person , Don Pettit tweets , uploads YouTube TV , and keep up a blog . But unlike the rest of us , Don is doing it from the International Space Station . Blogging for Smithsonian ’s Air and Space magazine , Pettit tell us how tohost dinner party guests in Space .
It does not weigh that you ’ve seen the same faces every day for months on end ; you ’d still like to invite everyone over to “ your module ” for dinner party . With invitation take , you prepare for the social occasion . But what is the expected etiquette for entertaining in orbit ? How do you arrange things so your node will not think you are gauche ? Here are a few place - examine guideline to help in the preparation .
Have plentifulness of food , and serve your very best . Now is the clip to break out those thermal - stabilized sac of beef steak that you have been accumulate . lend out any specialty detail from your personal crew allotment ( these items arrive on the periodic unmanned resupply ballistic capsule that jaw us ) . Perhaps you’re able to share a can of fume anchovy , New Mexico green chili , or a art object of Old Amsterdam cheese . Always dish up something particular that is not repeatedly corrode on the standard nine - day menu . Being generous now will reap more benefits than eating these delicacies in solitude .
The option of potable is rather limited . you’re able to serve the standard ones : coffee , tea , and by artificial means flavored , artificially colored , refined sugar - loaded , yield - reproduction drunkenness . All , of form , are served in a dish , and you sip the fluid through a chaff . The image of an worm suck up the juice from some lower insect may fall to mind , but in place it is considered impolite to give voice to such imagery .
you could provide a special treat if you have admission to one of the inquiry refrigerators . In space , all your food is either red-hot or at way temperature . When you live in an isothermal surround , it can be a real treat to serve your guests a bag of dusty water .
For special juncture - perhaps after a space walk or the docking of a resupply fomite - you could serve your beverage in a “ zero - GB ” cup . This is something you will have to make from scrap plastic sheeting ( pedagogy are in Appendix C ) . These cup allow you to sip beverages from an candid container , like we do on Earth . Zero - g cups , unlike bag with straws , are better for social rituals like toasting , and will bring a grin to the faces of your Edgar Albert Guest .
It is important to dress up your galley . Have full packets of wet and dry wipes within easy reach on the cookhouse table . Take any fond packet and save them for another time . Empty the trash bins . A full trash bank identification number is problematic ; a handful of minuscule thing typically float out when new items are add . This rudely interrupts conversation while everyone scatters to collect the floating debris . It is good to have two trash bins ; the banner - sized one for biggish items , and an sometime wet rub container for little ones . This interval of smaller glass - cutoff pouch corners , food crumbs , and wrappers - helps preclude their release when the lid is spread . Be sure to label this wet rub container “ trash ” . fresh arrived crew may not be aware of this chalk protocol , so it is good to politely shew by example . They will learn quickly enough .
Clean the food scissors grip . Scissors are necessitate to spread out nutrient pocket , as tearing them along the built - in perforation usually results in liberating hot droplets of fatty ooze and other asteroid - like particle . That ’s why , if the scissors are n’t sustain clean , they become caked in solidified pan gravy to the point where they become glue keep out ( not to bring up being slenderly repulsive ) . Such a Department of State is considered uncivil , so clean your scissors before the guests arrive .
Always have a lender spoon useable . In lightness , it is gentle to lose thing . It is not strange in a group of six for someone ’s spoonful to have float off . Having a uninfected lender spoonful allows for the evening to go forward and the conversation to flow . It is rude to give your Edgar Guest a loaner spoonful caked in skank from the last time it was used . The lost spoonful is commonly found by morning time , stuck to a breathing machine inlet concealment , and your guest will revalue it being returned .
saucy tape , wipe , and an spare spoonful .
Always put out new tape . The galley table has multiple spots of Velcro to park packets of intellectual nourishment . However , not all packet and pouches have mating touch of Velcro , which mean they ca n’t be ready down on the tabular array . Several slip of duct tape , carefully fold so the adhesive side is out ( see Appendix D for instructions ) , permit such containers to be park on the table . tape recording left over from the previous week , while utterly functional , collects errant crumbs , hairs , lint , and other unsightly thing . Displaying dirty tape is exceedingly rude to your guests ; always put out new , clean tape .
In space , catching food in your mouth is considered polite . open broad and making a clean gimmick will most always bring cheers from your invitee . In one impressive draft , you could leave them with the image of some sea creature breathe in another . Catching nutrient in your mouth , like belching at the table ( moot impolite in most cultures , but a compliment to the chef in others ) is raw on Earth but de rigueur in space .
By following these simple rules , you will ensure a delightful evening with your guest . And remember , on the space frontier , the etiquette Bible is still being written . I promote you to excogitate new means of conducting everyday life-time , let in entertaining . It is one of the reason we find ourselves here in the first place .
republish with permissision fromAir & Space Magazine .
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