Let’s talk space cuisine! It’s not just science fiction; it’s comfort food, too! Astronauts get to enjoy familiar snacks while orbiting Earth, as well as futuristic nutrient sources. Here are 10 foods you’d never expect to make it to the space menu.
10. Liquid Salt and Pepper
Seasoning your food in zero gravity isn’t as simple as it sounds. Try it, and it would send tiny particles floating everywhere. That’s why, NASA developed a workaround: liquid salt and pepper. Salt is dissolved in water and pepper is suspended in oil. This means, astronauts can add a few drops onto their meals for flavor (minus the mess).
9. Shrimp Cocktail
Believe it or not, astronauts eat shrimp cocktail, and they love it. Shrimp cocktail is one of the most requested items on the space menu because it serves a crucial purpose. Astronauts often get a dulled sense of taste and smell caused by microgravity, and it’s quite similar to having a head cold. The zesty horseradish sauce from the shrimp cocktail offers a flavor kick that cuts through the sensory dullness.
8. Pizza
That’s right, in 2001, Pizza Hut made the most expensive pizza delivery in history. Costing a whopping $1 million, they sent a six-inch salami pizza to the International Space Station. To prevent the pizza from becoming crumbly in zero gravity, it was made with extra spices and a vacuum-sealed packaging. While this was clearly a marketing stunt, it marked a significant moment in space food history.
7. Smuggled Corned Beef Sandwich
In 1965, astronaut John Young became famous for smuggling a corned beef sandwich. It started as a playful prank that led to a serious safety concern. The rye bread crumbs floated around the cabin, posing a threat to the spacecraft’s electronics. The incident led to stricter rules about food and safety protocols for spaceflight. Meanwhile, a replica of the sandwich is on display at the Grissom Memorial Museum in Indiana.
6. International Cultural Foods
In a recent mission, astronauts from India, Hungary, and Poland brought their national dishes to the ISS. These foods offer psychological comfort, helping astronauts cope with the isolation of space. Some of the items on the menu included Indian mango nectar and halwa and Polish pierogis and leczo stew. This trend also highlights the growing importance of cultural diversity in space exploration.
5. Space-Grown Chile Peppers
In 2021, astronauts on the ISS successfully cultivated a crop of chile peppers in the station’s Advanced Plant Habitat. This was a huge milestone for space agriculture, proving that fresh produce could be grown in zero gravity. The astronauts enjoyed the fruits of their labor, as they made tacos using the chile peppers. This experiment is part of an effort to create sustainable food sources for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.
4. Floating Coffee Balls
You can’t drink coffee in space…unless you turn it into a ball. That’s right, astronauts have experimented with drinking coffee in the form of floating, gelatinous orbs. They can be sipped through a straw or “caught” in mid-air. The coffee balls are created by mixing coffee with a gelling agent. The result is a wobbly sphere that holds its shape in space.
3. Food Grown from Individual Cells
Ever heard of cellular agriculture? Well, it’s a technology that could revolutionize space food by allowing astronauts to produce fresh food on demand. They don’t need large-scale farming because meat and other foods are grown from individual cells in space. In April 2025, an experiment tested the feasibility of growing steak, mashed potatoes, and even desserts from cells.
2. Recycled Urine Water
It might sound unappetizing, but it’s true, astronauts on the ISS drink recycled urine. NASA developed an advanced filtration system that turns wastewater (including sweat and urine) into clean, drinkable water. The system is so effective that the recycled water is actually purer than what you’ll find here on Earth.
1. Microorganism-Produced Nutrients
What if astronauts could brew their vitamins on demand? That’s the idea behind NASA’s BioNutrients program. It uses genetically engineered yeast as tiny factories to produce essential nutrients. Astronauts just have to add water to a packet of dehydrated yeast and powdered food source, and within 48 hours, they could get nutrients like beta carotene and zeaxanthin. The program is a clear step towards self-sufficient space travel.