Reading: Food: the fundamental question

1Read the article. Match summaries A−F to paragraphs 1−4. There are two summaries that you do not need. 

Food: the fundamental question

1 NASA is already planning the 2030 mission to Mars. It will take astronauts six months to reach the Red Planet. They will spend eighteen months living there, and then it will take another six months to return home. As well as building a spacecraft for them to travel in and designing some kind of accommodation, scientists have another problem to solve. What are the astronauts going to eat while they are away?

2 In 1961, the first person in space, Yuri Gagarin, ate food stored in toothpaste tubes while he travelled around the Earth. The next astronauts, who were American, had packets of dried food, which they mixed with water to make meals. Today, scientists on the International Space Station take pre-packaged meals with them. The problem with using this type of food on the Mars mission is that the astronauts are going to be away for longer. There won't be enough room on the spacecraft to store food for everybody on the mission, and anyway, the current meals only last for about two years. That is why researchers at NASA's Advanced Food Technology Project are trying to find a solution.

3 Senior research assistant Maya Cooper thinks she might have the answer. She studies how to grow plants without soil. Her plants grow on a shelf in a laboratory, in a special liquid that contains all of the nutrients they need. And they grow surprisingly well. Maya's idea is for the astronauts to have a kind of Martian greenhouse, where they can grow a variety of fruits and vegetables. They could combine these ingredients with others, such as nuts and spices brought from Earth, to prepare their meals. This will help the astronauts to get the amount of protein, carbohydrates and vitamins that they need to stay healthy. They will have to survive on a vegetarian diet while they are away because it isn't possible to preserve meat products for long enough to take them on the trip.

4 Maya also works on menus for the astronauts. With the help of several NASA experts, she has come up with more than a hundred different recipes. These include scrambled eggs for breakfast, a lunch of soup and tomato salad and a mushroom dish with spinach bread, followed by a nice dessert for dinner. There is also some comfort food on the menu, such as pizza, chips and biscuits, so that the astronauts do not miss home too much. It is very important that the Mars mission is a success because the astronauts will do some valuable research while they are away. For example, they will be able to look for other life forms and study the effect of a different atmosphere on the human body. However, none of this will be possible until the food problem is solved.

• AIt is possible to grow fruit and vegetables in space, but astronauts cannot have meat.

  BThe astronauts who go to Mars in 2030 probably will not take any junk food with them because it is important to stay healthy in space.

  CThe food that astronauts ate in space in the past is different from the food that they eat today, and it is not suitable for the mission to Mars.

  DWhile they are in space, astronauts will eat eggs, tomato soup, salad and bread every day.

  EBefore NASA can send astronauts on a long journey to Mars, scientists have to prepare.

  FNASA scientists think it is a good idea for astronauts to have both healthy food and junk food while they are away.

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

2Read the article and complete the sentences. 

You need to use normal letters and capital letters correctly in this task.

Food: the fundamental question

1 NASA is already planning the 2030 mission to Mars. It will take astronauts six months to reach the Red Planet. They will spend eighteen months living there, and then it will take another six months to return home. As well as building a spacecraft for them to travel in and designing some kind of accommodation, scientists have another problem to solve. What are the astronauts going to eat while they are away?

2 In 1961, the first person in space, Yuri Gagarin, ate food stored in toothpaste tubes while he travelled around the Earth. The next astronauts, who were American, had packets of dried food, which they mixed with water to make meals. Today, scientists on the International Space Station take pre-packaged meals with them. The problem with using this type of food on the Mars mission is that the astronauts are going to be away for longer. There won't be enough room on the spacecraft to store food for everybody on the mission, and anyway, the current meals only last for about two years. That is why researchers at NASA's Advanced Food Technology Project are trying to find a solution.

3 Senior research assistant Maya Cooper thinks she might have the answer. She studies how to grow plants without soil. Her plants grow on a shelf in a laboratory, in a special liquid that contains all of the nutrients they need. And they grow surprisingly well. Maya's idea is for the astronauts to have a kind of Martian greenhouse, where they can grow a variety of fruits and vegetables. They could combine these ingredients with others, such as nuts and spices brought from Earth, to prepare their meals. This will help the astronauts to get the amount of protein, carbohydrates and vitamins that they need to stay healthy. They will have to survive on a vegetarian diet while they are away because it isn't possible to preserve meat products for long enough to take them on the trip.

4 Maya also works on menus for the astronauts. With the help of several NASA experts, she has come up with more than a hundred different recipes. These include scrambled eggs for breakfast, a lunch of soup and tomato salad and a mushroom dish with spinach bread, followed by a nice dessert for dinner. There is also some comfort food on the menu, such as pizza, chips and biscuits, so that the astronauts do not miss home too much. It is very important that the Mars mission is a success because the astronauts will do some valuable research while they are away. For example, they will be able to look for other life forms and study the effect of a different atmosphere on the human body. However, none of this will be possible until the food problem is solved.

• 1In total, the Mars mission will last for  years.

• 2Yuri Gagarin ate his food from .

• 3The astronauts can't take pre-packaged food on the Mars mission because there isn't room and it .

• 4Maya Cooper works on a project called .

• 5Maya's plants grow in a type of liquid with some  in it, but no soil.

• 6The astronauts will be able to eat  in the evenings.

• 7Scientists believe that eating  in space will make the astronauts feel happier.

• 8While they are on Mars, astronauts will study the atmosphere and will try to find .

3Find the nouns in the article. Then complete definitions 1–8 with the nouns. 

Food: the fundamental question

1 NASA is already planning the 2030 mission to Mars. It will take astronauts six months to reach the Red Planet. They will spend eighteen months living there, and then it will take another six months to return home. As well as building a spacecraft for them to travel in and designing some kind of accommodation, scientists have another problem to solve. What are the astronauts going to eat while they are away?

2 In 1961, the first person in space, Yuri Gagarin, ate food stored in toothpaste tubes while he travelled around the Earth. The next astronauts, who were American, had packets of dried food, which they mixed with water to make meals. Today, scientists on the International Space Station take pre-packaged meals with them. The problem with using this type of food on the Mars mission is that the astronauts are going to be away for longer. There won't be enough room on the spacecraft to store food for everybody on the mission, and anyway, the current meals only last for about two years. That is why researchers at NASA's Advanced Food Technology Project are trying to find a solution.

3 Senior research assistant Maya Cooper thinks she might have the answer. She studies how to grow plants without soil. Her plants grow on a shelf in a laboratory, in a special liquid that contains all of the nutrients they need. And they grow surprisingly well. Maya's idea is for the astronauts to have a kind of Martian greenhouse, where they can grow a variety of fruits and vegetables. They could combine these ingredients with others, such as nuts and spices brought from Earth, to prepare their meals. This will help the astronauts to get the amount of protein, carbohydrates and vitamins that they need to stay healthy. They will have to survive on a vegetarian diet while they are away because it isn't possible to preserve meat products for long enough to take them on the trip.

4 Maya also works on menus for the astronauts. With the help of several NASA experts, she has come up with more than a hundred different recipes. These include scrambled eggs for breakfast, a lunch of soup and tomato salad and a mushroom dish with spinach bread, followed by a nice dessert for dinner. There is also some comfort food on the menu, such as pizza, chips and biscuits, so that the astronauts do not miss home too much. It is very important that the Mars mission is a success because the astronauts will do some valuable research while they are away. For example, they will be able to look for other life forms and study the effect of a different atmosphere on the human body. However, none of this will be possible until the food problem is solved.

MOVE
• planet
• researchers
• plants
• laboratory
• liquid
• ingredient
• recipes
• spinach

• 1An   is one of the things from which something is made.

• 2  are living things, such as vegetables or flowers, which grow in soil or water.

• 3  is a vegetable which has large, dark-green leaves.

• 4A   is something like water, milk, or oil.

• 5  are people who study things so that they can find out new facts about them.

• 6  give you instructions on how to make meals.

• 7A   is a place where scientists work and do experiments.

• 8A   is a large round object which moves around a star.

4Complete the sentences with the nouns in the box. 

You need to use normal letters and capital letters correctly in this task.

Food: the fundamental question

1 NASA is already planning the 2030 mission to Mars. It will take astronauts six months to reach the Red Planet. They will spend eighteen months living there, and then it will take another six months to return home. As well as building a spacecraft for them to travel in and designing some kind of accommodation, scientists have another problem to solve. What are the astronauts going to eat while they are away?

2 In 1961, the first person in space, Yuri Gagarin, ate food stored in toothpaste tubes while he travelled around the Earth. The next astronauts, who were American, had packets of dried food, which they mixed with water to make meals. Today, scientists on the International Space Station take pre-packaged meals with them. The problem with using this type of food on the Mars mission is that the astronauts are going to be away for longer. There won't be enough room on the spacecraft to store food for everybody on the mission, and anyway, the current meals only last for about two years. That is why researchers at NASA's Advanced Food Technology Project are trying to find a solution.

3 Senior research assistant Maya Cooper thinks she might have the answer. She studies how to grow plants without soil. Her plants grow on a shelf in a laboratory, in a special liquid that contains all of the nutrients they need. And they grow surprisingly well. Maya's idea is for the astronauts to have a kind of Martian greenhouse, where they can grow a variety of fruits and vegetables. They could combine these ingredients with others, such as nuts and spices brought from Earth, to prepare their meals. This will help the astronauts to get the amount of protein, carbohydrates and vitamins that they need to stay healthy. They will have to survive on a vegetarian diet while they are away because it isn't possible to preserve meat products for long enough to take them on the trip.

4 Maya also works on menus for the astronauts. With the help of several NASA experts, she has come up with more than a hundred different recipes. These include scrambled eggs for breakfast, a lunch of soup and tomato salad and a mushroom dish with spinach bread, followed by a nice dessert for dinner. There is also some comfort food on the menu, such as pizza, chips and biscuits, so that the astronauts do not miss home too much. It is very important that the Mars mission is a success because the astronauts will do some valuable research while they are away. For example, they will be able to look for other life forms and study the effect of a different atmosphere on the human body. However, none of this will be possible until the food problem is solved.

MOVE
• planet
• researchers
• plants
• laboratory
• liquid
• ingredient
• recipes
• spinach

• 1Scientists at the NASA  in Houston, Texas, design special food for space missions.

• 2Grape vines and olive trees are  which need a lot of sunshine to grow.

• 3 contains a lot of nutrients, minerals and vitamins. It is very healthy.

• 4You need vegetables and spices to make soup, but the main  is water.

• 5The  Saturn is more than 1.2 billion kilometres from Earth.

• 6Charles Bourland, who worked for NASA for more than thirty years, wrote a cookery book of space food .

• 7Scientists want to know if there is water or any other  on Mars.

• 8In the 1950s,  did not know if humans could survive a trip away from Earth, so they first sent animals like monkeys and dogs into space.

5  You are going on a mission to Mars and you can take only five food items with you. Which food items are you going to choose and why? Speak for no longer than one minute.

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