Mystery Illustration 107

What is it? Peat moss cubes for house plants? Insulation? Archaeological samples?

The answer is here.

Or after the jump.

Food for spaceflight must be nutritious, lightweight, and easily stored. As astronauts and cosmonauts spend increasing amounts of time in space, the food must also be appealing. This is a package of Russian Rye Bread. The bread is divided into space cubes and stored in a plastic envelope. The cosmonaut can break off a cube and eat it without shedding crumbs in the spacecraft. This specimen was not flown in space. An American donor gave it to the museum in the 1970s.