Apollo 16 Flown Cereal Bar
Apollo 16 Flown Cereal Bar
A cereal bar flown on the Apollo 16 mission, designed as part of the three meal a day plan, which provided approximately 2,800 calories for each astronaut.Apollo space food had coloured Velcro attached, allowing it to be secured to surfaces inside the spacecraft to avoid it floating about. Three Velcro colours were used: red, white and blue - to represent the American flag. The colours were also used to denote which crew member the food was designated for. Red was for the Commander, white for the Command Module Pilot, and blue for the Lunar Module Pilot. In this case, these cornflakes have white Velcro - so they were intended for consumption by Ken Mattingly, who was making his first spaceflight.
Whirlpool Corporation were awarded the contract for making food for the Apollo missions. The company through its Space Division were able to freeze-dry food, ensuring that it retained its nutritional benefit and taste - helping to provide the necessary calorie intake for the astronauts. Freeze-drying a lot of the food on Apollo missions also removed moisture, therefore reducing weight - another benefit for space travel.
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More information
Object number
2000-103
Location
Into Space Gallery
Has this object been into space?
Yes
Dimension - Dimension, Value, Measurement unit
Width: 8.9cm
Length: 12.1cm
Depth: 2.5cm
Material
Plastic
Velcro
Materials & techniques note
The cereal bar is packaged in a 4-ply clear vacuum packed plastic bag. The bag has a small Velcro square adhered to the surface. A sticker indicates ‘serial no. FAZ439' and another reads 'WSD/18 Cereal Bar, 2076'
Content - Description
Sugar coated cornflake, shortening, dehydrated egg albumen, water, orange (or lemon) flavouring. Coating: water, gelatin
Associated Organisation
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Associated event
Apollo 16
Associated Person
Ken Mattingly
Object Production Date
1972
Object Production Organisation
Whirlpool Space Division
Object Production Place
United States
Credit Line
Donated by National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
On Display Status
On display
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