What do NASA’s Artemis II astronauts eat? 58 tortillas, 43 cups of coffee and lots of hot sauce

What is NASA? Artemis II do astronauts eat? 58 tortillas, 43 cups of coffee and lots of hot sauce

Written by Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron

Dining at the place isn’t a Michelin Star experience, but it’s fun. The Artemis II so is the mission: the astrologer’s menu includes foods like macaroni and cheese, beef, broccoli or gratin—and 58 tortillas.

In total, the four crew members—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, and Christina Koch—have a selection of 189 different items to choose from on their journey around the moon. Tortillas are one of the most popular astronaut foods—in part because they’re easy to fill, fold, and eat without the pieces floating around at zero—g the environment inside the spacecraft.

On Friday, the staff’s breakfast included vegetable quiche, scrambled eggs, couscous with nuts, peaches and oatmeal. “There’s a delicious muffin today,” said NASA public affairs officer Leah Cheshier Mustachio while announcing the project. Coffee is also in high demand: NASA distributed 43 cups of coffee to the crew—more than 10 cups for each astronaut for a 10-day mission.

By supporting science journalism

If you enjoyed this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism to register. By purchasing a subscription, you help ensure a future of compelling stories about the discoveries and ideas that shape our world today.

In particular, the food of this mission can be served warm thanks to the “quiet mode” food heater – the Apollo missions did not have this luxury.

Besides coffee, astrologers have at least nine other options, including lemonade, green tea and apple cider, as well as chocolate, vanilla and strawberry “breakfast drinks.” Each astronaut has two non-water drinks allotted to him per day, according to NASA. There are also five types of hot sauces on board and several desserts – mainly cakes and chocolate.

Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen also has five Canadian food products to remind him of home, according to the Canadian Space Agency. These include catfish bites, shrimp curry, strawberry lavender superseed cereal, maple cream cookies—and, yes, maple syrup.

The crew had “direct input” into the menu, including a series of taste tests, according to NASA. “Crew staff sample, test and measure all meals on the standard menu during flight testing, and their options are balanced with nutritional needs and what Orion can accommodate,” the organization said.

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I ask for your support. Scientific American it has served as a spokesman for science and industry for 180 years, and now may be the most critical time in that two-hundred-year history.

I was a Scientific American subscribed to him since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm it always teaches and delights me, and inspires a sense of wonder for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific Americanhelps ensure that our content is based on meaningful research and discovery; that we have tools to report on decisions that threaten laboratories across the US; and that we support emerging and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself is often unrecognised.

On the other hand, you get valuable information, interesting podcasts, great infographics, you won’t miss newspapers, must-see videos, challenging sports, and the best writing and reporting in the world of science. You can too give someone else a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you will support us in this work.