I don’t know, you guys. I don’t know how I got to looking at vintage astronaut meals, but I did, and now, for whatever reason, I’m craving little cubes of food. Anyway, take a look at these dishes they ate in space because, honestly, it doesn’t look bad.
1.
Firstly, this was the 1964 proposed menu for the Gemini mission. Honestly, I could go for a gingerbread cube now. However…
2.
…I might skip the beef and vegetables. I would be lying if I said I didn’t pass by this image, thinking it was a tube of acrylic paint. Nope, it’s dinner for the Mercury mission in 1962.
3.
This bag of pork and potato scallops from the Apollo mission in 1969.
4.
This tea bag and sugar that flew with cosmonaut Aleksandr Volkov in the 1980s (which he signed after he got back).
5.
This “thermostabilized” meal that flew on Columbia of “apple drink”, rice pilaf, Italian beans, and a nice can of chocolate pudding.
6.
This pineapple-grapefruit drink brick that would have been rehydrated with seven ounces of water before consumption.
7.
This heavily compacted box of cereal, which, yes, you could rehydrate, but something makes me want to pop it out and eat it like a sandwich. Fun fact: Crumbly foods were packaged with an edible film around them to avoid floating crumbs. I’m not going to lie; it annoys me so much thinking about random food crumbs floating around my face.
8.
Remember our tube of beef and vegetables? They were served a little bit more of an upgrade on the Apollo 11 mission.
9.
This chicken and vegetable, beef hash, and beef and gravy for the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Imagine that: three dinners that could easily fit in my purse.
10.
This SkyLab tray from the early 1970s that was actually its own oven, too! It heated the first row of packages and sat right on the astronaut’s lap.
11.
This very ergonomic-looking chocolate instant breakfast. It honestly seems like something I’d see with someone jogging past me in the park.
12.
This yellow…thing from the STS-5 mission in 1982. While I’m not sure what the yellow is, I can tell you it’s a drink because it’s got a straw. The straw has a little tourniquet on it so the liquid doesn’t casually start coming out. Gravity’s a kicker.
13.
I’m not sure why this reminds me of hairspray, but it’s actually a can of Coke specifically designed to be enjoyed in zero gravity. It was flown on mission 51-F in 1985.
14.
This very thin-looking pot roast and gravy that an astronaut is enjoying during a spacecraft training in 1966.
15.
These sugar cookie cubes flew on Gemini in the 1960s. I’m going to be completely honest: I would buy these if they sold them at my grocery store. They sound delicious.
16.
Here’s some more Gemini food for you: Beef pot roast, orange juice, toasted bread cubes, and bacon egg bites in the bottom corner. Seriously, I’m starting to think of how much more efficient I would be if all of my meals were in little cubes.
17.
In 2005, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi brought ramen, specially designed by Nissin, with her to space aboard Discovery.
18.
Finally, in this day and age, there are things like (clockwise from top left) ready-to-eat corned beef, dehydrated creamed spinach, dehydrated teriyaki chicken, and ready-to-eat legumes soup. TBH that sounds pretty good!
There’s everything and more you never know you needed to know about space food. Now tell me, which food WOULD not translate well to a tube or a cube? Tell me in the comments below!
