The Astronaut Ice Cream Sandwich, as well as other freeze-dried food items, has been aboard space missions since the early Mercury missions. They continue to be used on NASA missions today.

HOW IS ASTRONAUT ICE CREAM FREEZE-DRIED?

Freeze-drying, or lyophilization, removes water from the ice cream by lowering the air pressure to a point where ice shifts from a solid to a gas. The ice cream is placed in a vacuum chamber and frozen until the water crystallizes. The air pressure is lowered, creating a vacuum, forcing air out of the chamber; next heat is applied, vaporizing the ice; finally a freezing coil traps the vaporized water. This process continues for hours, resulting in a perfect freeze-dried ice cream slice.

Ingredients:

Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream slice contains:

Milk fat, nonfat milk, corn syrup, whey, stabilized and emulsified by mono and diglycerides, guar gum, cellulose gum and carageenan, artificial flavor, and vegetable annatto color. Wafer ingredients: Bleached wheat flour, sugar, caramel color, corn sugar, vegetable shortening (partially hydrogenated oils, soybean, cotton seed), corn flour, corn syrup, cocoa, modified corn starch, salt, baking soda, mono and diglycerides, soy lecithin.

Makes a great gift or a school snack.


Recommended for ages 5 and older.

Weight: 0 lb 2 oz ( 0.06 kg )