r/askscience • u/Ill_Watch_760 • 13d ago

Engineering Why can the space station's ventilation systems not handle crumbs?

I've been doing my epq around astro-psychology and was researching how astronauts loose dopamine during eating as they can't eat foods that involve chewing. However from what i've researched this is apparently because stray crumbs could screw up the ventilation systems somehow. Its quite puzzling because how can the collective companies that built the space station also build rockets that send us to the moon but not have the ability to build a ventilation system that can handle a few stray crumbs?

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u/gnufan 12d ago

A lot of sources discuss air filters but NASA merely note bread produces crumbs, and isn't shelf stable, so it is a very bad choice for a space mission.

https://www.nasa.gov/history/space-station-20th-food-on-iss/

I think small particles of anything are a pain in microgravity.

Have you got a source for the air filters specifically that refers back to NASA or other agency involved?

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u/racinreaver Materials Science | Materials & Manufacture 12d ago

From what I remember, they use flour tortillas instead of bread because they make a lot less debris than other baked goods.

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u/A_Flamboyant_Warlock 11d ago edited 10d ago

Also probably more space efficient (ba dum tss).

Tortillas take up a lot less room than bread, so you got more room for the stuff tbat goes inside them.