Space Food

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the first humans landing on the moon. While I like to think they snacked on zero gravity Mars bars while shooting through space, the reality of space food is far less appetizing, although NASA makes it sound like 5-star cuisine.

Not only were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin the first humans to ever set foot on the moon, they were also the first humans to eat on the moon. While romping around in their cute outfits, they enjoyed a lunar picknick of ham-salad sandwiches, fortified fruit strips, and rehydratable beverages

The astronauts’ diet has come a long way from the freeze-dried, dehydrated “foods” that had to be rehydrated with water and sucked from tubes or eaten out of pouches. Today, NASA’s food lab offers 185 dishes, and astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) are each allowed to bring two cases of non-perishable foods, such as M&Ms or chips. Special requests – birthday cakes, or a pizza from Pizza Hut – are sometimes considered as well. Astronauts even get to eat tortillas that are manufactered by Taco Bell’s supplier, although I’m not sure this gives them an edge over their Russian colleagues.

Here’s a look at some of the “food” from past missions astronauts had to put up with while floating around in space. Makes you think twice about wanting to become an astronaut, doesn’t it?!