Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 67 — page 40: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

‘\ AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION of ammonia. Its protein con- tent is three times that of Chlorella and may be used where small quantities of high protein food are needed to add to a diet. Bacteria will be selected to grow in the alge suspension. They will live on the decaying alge plants and undecomposed sewage, thus cleaning the suspension, and they will produce antibiotics to inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria. They will also produce vita- mins—it is within the bounds of possibility that by the time mankind is ready to probe the deeps out to Pluto, the ships will be able to carry every biologically necessary food—synthesised within their tanks of microflora. Although most of the water used by spacemen will be recovered and distilled, there will be inevitable losses. About a pound a day for each member of the crew must be used to top-up the system. Storage of food and water will be a minor problem. The dried foods can be stored in plastic bags weighing only a hundredth of their contents. Care must be taken that fine powders such as flour do not get into the air and block up the air conditioning unit. Flour is ideal in this respect, as 39 water can be injected into a plastic bag and the whole mixed to a dough before taking it out of the bag. And dough conveniently sticks to any surface. _ Water will be carried in lightweight flexible plastic tanks. Cooking will be another minor problem. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to boil or fry under free fall. A centrifugal device could be designed, but its extra mass would not really be worth- while. Baking and steaming will cook most foods. Tea will be impossible to make with- out boiling water at one atmos- phere pressure, but coffee can be made in a small pressure vessel lined with a flexible plastic. Even coffee would have to be cooled before serving in plastic squeeze bottles. Already we are filling in the picture of what life will be like aboard the first space- ships. A concentrated effort will have to be made to enable one article to do the work of two. We can look forward to a very rapid solution to most of the purely physical problems, unless the unknown factor x enters the equation—and then, even- tually, we shall conquer that. comicloooks.com