When you look at it that way, it may not seem mouthwatering, but it’s still balanced, healthy, easy to prepare, and can be stored in extreme conditions for long periods: it’s astronaut food, high-tech dishes designed by experts at NASA’s Space Food System Laboratories. Since the 1960s, nutritionists, physicists, and astronauts have faced numerous challenges in space catering. On the ISS, cooking in the traditional sense is not possible because open flames cannot be used; therefore, all foods are pre-cooked and dehydrated to reduce their weight and size. When astronauts sit at the table, they simply add hot or cold water to their dishes to bring them back to their normal state.

The absence of gravity also diminishes cosmonauts’ sense of smell and much of their sense of taste; thus, all foods must be seasoned with special sauces that enhance the flavors. Additionally, packaging must be particularly robust to withstand the extreme conditions of space. Everything is under vacuum; just a minimal amount of oxygen inside the package can permanently compromise the contents and make them inedible. The dehydration process and cold sterilization that foods undergo also strip them of most vitamins and proteins, which is why cosmonauts must supplement their diet with various colored tablets to ensure they receive the correct supply of all nutrients.