Best astronaut ice cream and space food

By Ezzy Pearson

Published: Tuesday, 30 August 2022 at 12:00 am

Creating delicious space food for astronauts to eat has long been a concern for space agencies.

If they want a human mission to last longer than a few hours without your crew getting irritable or distracted, you have to feed them

But in the early Mercury missions it quickly became apparent that food served another important purpose – keeping up morale.

The Mercury 7 astronauts were given unappetising meals served as a paste in a tube, and it was one of their biggest complaints about the mission.

Today space agencies around the world spend a lot of their time dedicated to making the best food that they can for their crews for their long stays on the International Space Station (ISS).

""
Expedition 55 crewmembers (left to right) Anton N. Shkaplerov, Oleg G. Artemev, and Norishige Kanai eating sushi on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

How is astronauts’ food made?

The lack of gravity means that many foods we easily eat on Earth are impossible in space.

Meanwhile, the lack of storage space and need for food to last months, or even years, put further constraints on how foods are processed. So what do astronauts eat in space?

In a lot of cases, it’s possible to use shelf-stable ingredients to pre-cook meals and then vacuum sealing them in bags or tins as glorified ready meals.

However, sometimes it’s better to dehydrate food removing as much water as possible, usually by freeze-drying.

This puts the food into a strong vacuum drawing out up to 98% of the water, and it can then be rehydrated at a later date.

Today, the ISS has a special kitchen with hot and cold water taps, as well as a warmer to heat meals.

""
A range of space food available on the Space Shuttle, showing the range of methods for preserving food. Credit: NASA

What does food taste like in space?

The effect of microgravity doesn’t change the chemical structure of most food stuffs, so food should in theory taste the same on Earth as it does on orbit.

However, it does cause fluids in the body to shift, meaning some astronauts get congested and can’t taste as well as they can here on Earth.

For this reason, one of the favourite condiments on the ISS is Tabasco sauce.

What do astronauts eat on the ISS?

 

""
British Astronaut Tim Peake admires a recent delivery of fresh fruit.

Today, astronauts have a wide menu to choose from.

Each space agency is responsible for feeding their astronaut, though it’s not uncommon for crew members to swap meals – especially when a new cargo delivery arrives, bringing with it a shipment of fresh fruit.

As well as special meals for holidays, each crew member is allowed to request a certain number of ‘bonus foods’, usually local delicacies or personal favourites.

Before his 2015-2016 mission, UK astronaut Tim Peake worked with celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal to develop essential British classics, such as chicken curry, beef stew and a bacon sarnie.

The latter was a slightly uncertain option, as the bread crumbs can gum up instruments, as John Young found out in 1965 when he snuck a corned beef sandwich on board Gemini 3.

However, Heston used dense bread which was then cooked in a tin to create a crustless option.

When Peake arrived at the ISS he found his crew mates had already cooked one up, waiting for him.

Listen to our interview with Tim Peake on our podcast Radio Astronomy to find out more about his time on the ISS.

Do they eat astronaut ice cream on the ISS?

""
Astronauts unpack ice cream on board the ISS (clockwise from left) Thomas Pesquet, Shane Kimbroug and Akihiko Hoshide. Credit: ESA/Thomas Pesquet

In space, no one can hear you scream for ice-cream – unless you’re on the ISS.

For the last few years, astronauts have received real ice cream thanks to SpaceX’s Dragon cargo vehicle, which has a freezer installed.

The catch is they only have the month the vehicle is docked to eat it – a great hardship, I’m sure.

What you won’t find though is freeze-dried ice cream – most astronauts say it is too dry and sweet for their tastes, and creates too many crumbs.