These sausage patties were provided to the crew of Apollo 16, but as they were not consumed during the mission, they were returned to Earth.
During the Apollo missions, food had to be stored without refrigeration and have the ability to be eaten under weightless conditions, while being nutritious, lightweight, and have the ability to be compressed when possible. The sausage patties were freeze-dried and were reconstituted by the astronaut with a water probe, which dispensed one half ounce of hot or cold water as required each time the trigger button was pressed.
The food was protected with a 4-ply, laminated film coating. This protected the food from loss of flavor, moisture and oxygen invasion, spoiling and excess crumbling, and was used on both the rehydratable and the bite-sized foods.
NASA transferred this to the National Air and Space Museum in 1986.
