Artemis II: What do the astronauts eat in space? Here’s the menu

Astronauts need to eat too, and NASA released what will be on the menu as the Artemis II crew traverses space for their 10-day flyby mission to the moon.

Dig deeper:

Since the crew will be unable to restock items during their mission, the food flying aboard the Orion spacecraft needs to be able to last, in addition to being easy to consume.

Related: Meet the Artemis II astronauts headed around the moon

What they’re saying:

“​​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. 

Menu: Snacks, meals, drinks, hot sauce, and flavorings

By the numbers:

The crew will have 189 unique menu items they can enjoy, according to NASA.

That includes a variety of drinks, breads, nuts, and vegetables, as well as different hot sauces and flavorings.

Some of the most common items are: tortillas, wheat flat bread, vegetable quiche, breakfast sausage, almonds, cashews, brisket, broccoli Au Gratin, and macaroni & cheese.

Artemis II food item menu. (NASA)

Eating on Orion

The food traveling with the Artemis II crew will be ready-to-eat and rehydratable.

Crew members will be given certain times to eat and will be allowed two flavored beverages per day, and this includes coffee.

It’s also important to note that food must be suitable for eating in microgravity, which means it cannot create crumbs or excess waste aboard the spacecraft, NASA said

Artemis II mission

Big picture view:

The second mission for the Artemis program will send four astronauts around the moon aboard the Orion spacecraft.

Orion will not land on the moon. The goal of the mission is to confirm all the spacecraft’s systems operate as intended with people on board in deep space.

The first Artemis mission in 2022 sent an empty Orion capsule to circle the moon after blasting off on NASA’s new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Although the launch and lunar laps went well, the capsule returned with an excessively charred and eroded bottom heat shield, damaged from the heat of reentry.

Artemis II’s launch has been delayed multiple times. Those delays have pushed the third Artemis mission — a moon landing by two other astronauts — to at least 2027.