Unlike Earth, there are no supermarkets nor convenience stores in space. Astronauts need food to live on. Where does the astronaut's food come from? Is their food the same as what we eat? Astronauts don't eat space ice cream in space?

Space foods are brought to space from the Earth. Yuri Gagarin, the first astronaut up in space, took meat puree and chocolate sauce with him and ate in space. At that time, space foods were packed in a toothpaste-like tube. Astronauts squeezed out the paste-like food into their mouth. Nowadays, there are a multitude of space foods. They are almost indistinguishable from the food on Earth. Hamburgers and pizzas can be eaten in space.

Can all food be taken to space? No! The food that astronauts eat in space must meet stringent requirements, like being safe, delicious, nutritious, diversified, and compact. Space food needs to be well preserved and not easily deteriorated. Astronauts can safely consume them for several months. Also, it must meet the nutritional needs of astronauts (with balanced vitamins and minerals) without sacrificing taste and choices. Astronauts, like us, want to enjoy delicious and divergent food in space! Besides, the volume and mass of space food are important. Due to the high cost of each launch to space, it is necessary to reduce the payload of food.

What are some examples of space food? What kind of food cannot be taken into space? Are space foods different in different countries? Stay tuned for our next space food post!