Even up in space, six new members of the International Space Station will celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner that will, of course, include turkey.

The Thanksgiving menu aboard the ISS is somewhat different from Earthly standards. The turkey is freeze dried and irradiated while the side dishes will feature thermostabilized candied yams. And don't forget the freeze dried green beans.

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The dressing is also freeze dried as is the dessert, which is a thermostabilized cherry blueberry cobbler pie.

The six astronauts now on board the ISS are part of Expedition 42. The crew includes NASA Commander Barry Wilmore; NASA flight engineer Terry Virt and Russian flight engineers Anton Shkaplerov, Elena Serova and Alexander Samokutyaev.

They are also joined by the first female Italian astronaut in space, European Space Agency's Samantha Cristoforetti, who happened to bring her zero gravity espresso machine with her.

Food choices are limited on the ISS. Food items should be small in size but still packed with nutrition. Messy foods that will spill or that have crumbs aren't allowed as they'll float around and clog the instruments.

Breads and rolls, unfortunately, aren't included in the astronauts' Thanksgiving dinner.

Since the beginning of NASA's Space Shuttle program, space food has not changed a lot in 30 years. NASA has been studying new methods to make food more delicious and last longer up in space, especially on deep space missions, including those to Mars.

NASA is also experimenting with growing real food such as fruits and vegetables in orbit. In the near future, one vegetable can be grown and eaten fresh on board the ISS as studies show that sweet potato grows remarkably well in a closed off environment illuminated by fake sunlight.

Regardless of the food situation in space, astronauts still find ways to celebrate the holidays with simple yet nutritious food.

NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio said that even if there are holidays or a crew member's birthday, they all get together twice a week to have dinner together.

TagsSpace Food: Thanksgiving Dinner of Astronauts Up in ISS, Thanksgiving, space food, ISS, thanksgiving menu astronauts space ISS