http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space...htm?POE=NEWISVA
By Traci Watson, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The two residents of the International Space Station ran short of food and had to cut back their meals this month thanks in part to unlikely food thieves: the previous station crew.
Leroy Chiao, the American now living on the station, confirmed during a news conference Wednesday what Russian space officials had been saying: The previous crew ate food meant for Chiao and his Russian crewmate, Salizhan Sharipov.
The previous crewmembers, American Michael Fincke and Russian Gennady Padalka, had found that their rations had grown monotonous. So flight controllers let them break into the food supply reserved for Chiao and Sharipov. But Fincke and Padalka did not accurately report how much of it they ate, Chiao said.
In November, NASA realized the station's cupboard was almost bare. So it asked Chiao and Sharipov to cut their calories by about 10%, or 300 calories a day, while they waited for a cargo ship to bring more food.
"Both of us ended up losing a few pounds, but that's something I guess we can't really complain about," Chiao said. "We looked at it as kind of a challenge, a camping adventure."
The adventure ended when the cargo ship, a Russian-made vehicle called the Progress, arrived Christmas Day as planned. If it hadn't, Chiao and Sharipov would have been forced to abandon the station in early January.
To get by until the Progress docked, Chaio said, "We had to cut back to half rations of what I will call 'real food,' that is, meat, potatoes, vegetables, that kind of thing." The crew made up for the loss of "real food" with a diet that any 6-year-old would love: more candy and desserts, which were abundant.
"Not an ideal diet," Chiao admitted. "We were both very happy to see the Progress get on board."
The station has been running short of food, water and other supplies because the U.S. space shuttle fleet has been grounded since the shuttle Columbia broke apart, killing its seven crewmembers, on Feb. 1, 2003. The shuttle is the station's main supplier because it is big enough to haul enough cargo for long durations.
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