NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, together with the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen, are less than 24 hours away from flying to the moon.
The Artemis II mission is on target to blast off from the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, April 1. Once NASA’s powerful SLS rocket has lifted the crew to space, they’ll spend about a day in Earth orbit checking the Orion spacecraft’s systems before changing trajectory and heading for the moon.
The mission doesn’t involve a lunar touchdown. Instead, the astronauts will fly around the moon before heading back home in a voyage expected to last about 10 days.
So, what kind of food will keep the crew fueled over the course of their epic trip?
The menu items are designed to support crew health and performance, and with no resupply or refrigeration, all of the food must be shelf-stable as well as easy to prepare and consume within the confines of the spacecraft.
“Food selections are developed in coordination with space food experts and the crew to balance calorie needs, hydration, and nutrient intake while accommodating individual crew preferences,” NASA said in a post about meals on the Artemis II mission.
Menu items include everything from tortillas, vegetable quiche, and mango salad, to nuts, macaroni and cheese, and tropical fruit salad. As they travel to and from the moon, the astronauts will also be able to enjoy things like granola with blueberries, barbecued beef brisket, and spicy green beans.
Drink options include coffee, green tea, mango-peach smoothie, lemonade, and cocoa. While it might feel appropriate to celebrate a lunar flyaround with a glass of champagne, no alcohol will be loaded onto the Orion.
The consumables are certainly a step up from what the last set of Apollo astronauts enjoyed — or endured — during their moon missions more than five decades ago.
Then, astronaut food was limited and often unappealing, comprising mainly bite-sized cubes, freeze-dried powders, and tube-packaged meals with little variety or texture. In contrast, the Artemis II crew members are benefitting from decades of advancements — thanks in part to experiences on the International Space Station — enabling them to enjoy food that’s both tastier and more nutritious.
NASA will use what it learns on the Artemis II mission to better understand how astronauts eat and manage food effectively in a small spacecraft, with the findings helping to guide preparations for future and much longer crewed missions to deep space.
Interested to watch a livestream of the Artemis II crew launching on their historic mission from Florida’s Space Coast on Wednesday? Digital Trends has you covered.