Eating In Space: Learn About Apace Food | Canadian Space Agency

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• What astronauts eat in space and why
• A taste of home: the psychological impact of food
• How to eat in space?
• Selecting and packaging food for a mission
• Food conservation
• How microgravity affects taste
• In the space kitchen with Chef Chris Hadfield

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What astronauts eat in space and why

Eating in microgravity is not always a piece of cake! Preparing food while floating is a challenge! And some foods can contaminate the ambient air or foul the equipment. Astronauts must take care at mealtime.

Food must meet certain criteria to be allowed in orbit:

• Compact: Space is very limited on board the spacecraft.
• Lightweight: Sending goods into orbit is extremely expensive.
• Nutritious: The food must contribute to the healthy diet of the crew.
• Tasty: Astronauts' sense of taste is reduced in microgravity.
• Minimal crumbs: In the absence of gravity, crumbs and particles float freely.
• Shelf stable: The food must keep for at least the entire duration of a mission.

On the International Space Station (ISS) a standard menu allows each astronaut to have three meals and one snack a day. Food is stored in a pantry format so that astronauts can choose what to eat each day. Their food intake is tracked, and dietitians provide recommendations to ensure they are meeting their nutritional requirements, as needed.

Depending on the astronaut’s weight, gender and specific needs, they consume between 1900 and 3200 calories per day.

Just like physical activity, a healthy diet helps reduce the negative effects of microgravity on the human body.

Can you be an astronaut if you have food allergies? You can, but it might depend on the severity and predictability of your allergies. Dietary restrictions (for medical or religious/philosophical reasons) do not automatically disqualify an astronaut. The program evaluates risk, logistics, and mitigation feasibility case-by-case. The restrictions are managed proactively through menu planning, food packaging and storage controls, medical screening, and operational workarounds.

A taste of home: the psychological impact of food

On Earth, people like to get together to share a good meal. The same is true in space! For astronauts, this is an opportunity not only to refuel, but also to relax, spend some quality time with colleagues and discuss their culture.

Psychological research conducted on crews in isolated environments like spacecrafts has shown that food variety, quality and quantity greatly affect the performance and overall well-being of the crews. A variety of food choices during missions helps maintain morale and lessens the occurrence of boredom, decreased appetite and poor nutrition.

Over the course of several astronaut missions the CSA has added a number of Canadian foods to on-orbit menus. These items not only represented Canadian identity, they also met rigorous spaceflight criteria. Canadian astronauts have enjoyed Canadian Girl Guide cookies, pacific smoked salmon, maple sugar candy and musk-ox jerky, among many other treats.

For example, during Chris Hadfield's stay on board the ISS, the other crew members had the opportunity to taste some Canadian foods such as:

• maple syrup cookies
• duck rillettes
• candied wild smoked salmon

David Saint-Jacques enjoyed a special chili inspired by his wife's recipe.

Astronauts' families can also send them special foods like candies and treats – more as a little taste of home than strictly for their nutritional value!

The next two CSA astronauts slated for flights are not making exception. Here are the Canadian food items they will enjoy.

Note: The information provided on this page is for information purposes only. Any mention of an organization or its product should not be construed as an endorsement of that organization or its product by the Canadian Space Agency or the Government of Canada.

Jeremy Hansen and his Artemis II crewmates aboard the Orion spacecraft

Company	Location	Product Name	Format
Goldy's	Etobicoke, ON	Strawberry lavender superseed cereal	Rehydratable meal
Turkey Hill Sugarbush Ltd.	Granby, QC	Maple cream cookies	Natural form
Happy Yak	Cowansville, QC	Shrimp curry with rice	Rehydratable meal
SeaChange Seafoods	Heriot Bay, BC	Natural wild keta salmon bites	Thermostabilized (flexible pouch)
Citadelle Maple Syrup Producers' Cooperative	Plessisville, QC	CAMP 100% pure maple syrup, single serve	Natural form

Joshua Kutryk aboard the ISS

Company	Location	Product Name	Format
Goldy's	Etobicoke, ON	Strawberry lavender superseed cereal	Rehydratable meal
PeakEATS	Exshaw, AB	Tuscan tomato quinoa salad with almonds	Rehydratable meal
Trails End Buffalo Stix	Gull Lake, SK	Cranberry craze bison stix	Natural form
Nomad Nutrition	Burnaby, BC	Chewy banana bites	Natural form
Elan (Tootsi Impex)	Saint-Laurent, QC	Dried cranberries	Natural form
		Acai blueberry cashews	Natural form
Turkey Hill Sugarbush Ltd.	Granby, QC	Maple cream cookies	Natural form
Happy Yak	Cowansville, QC	Merry berry couscous	Rehydratable meal
		Sunny rice salad	Rehydratable meal
		Shrimp curry with rice	Rehydratable meal
		Pad thai, vegetable and peanut	Rehydratable meal
		Cheese and mushroom risotto	Rehydratable meal
		Moroccan feast	Rehydratable meal
		Chili fiesta	Rehydratable meal
SeaChange Seafoods	Heriot Bay, BC	Natural wild keta salmon bites	Thermostabilized (flexible pouch)
		Crab and pollock pâté	Thermostabilized (can)
		Smoked pink salmon pâté	Thermostabilized (can)
Whistler Chocolate	Whistler, BC	Milk chocolate bar	Natural form
Citadelle Maple Syrup Producers' Cooperative	Plessisville, QC	CAMP 100% pure maple syrup, single serve	Natural form

How to eat in space

The standard procedure for preparing meals in the ISS is as follows:

1. Reheat the meal in the food warmer or rehydrate it according to the instructions.
2. Prepare the beverage by rehydrating it with hot or cold water (did you know that the water aboard the ISS is recycled from the astronauts' urine, sweat, water vapour from their breath and wash water?).
3. Cut the meal packaging with scissors.
4. Eat the meal from the package and drink using a specially adapted straw.
5. Catch any water drops or stray food with a utensil… or your mouth!

Aboard the Orion capsule, things are a bit different. For example, while there is a food warmer aboard, it has limited capacity – so the crew expects to eat most of its food… at room temperature!

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Selecting and packaging food for a mission

Canadian astronauts test certain foods several months prior to the launch of a space mission. They start at NASA's Space Food Systems Laboratory where they test and rate a selection of meals and snacks. Other tasting sessions are planned before their individual menus are finalized, including at the CSA where they work with nutrition experts to select commercially available Canadian food items suitable for space to supplement their menu.

While some treats and canned food are flown in their original packaging, most food items are prepared and packaged by NASA. Rehydratable food are in plastic packages designed to allow a small needle from the water dispenser to be inserted in. Both thermostabilized and rehydratable foods can be reheated in the food warmer. Drinks are often powders in pouches in which one can add water and use a specially adapted straw to consume.

Regardless of the format, all packaging includes a little Velcro dot to stick the item to the surfaces – no one wants their food to float away! Once the food is consumed, the packaging is thrown away in the garbage and is brought back to Earth with the astronauts or is released in space to burn in the atmosphere in a cargo ship.

Food conservation

Most space meals are selected and packaged to ensure that they will last for the entire duration of a long-duration mission. Each package is labelled to indicate what is in the package, preparation instructions and the best before date.

Food consumed in space falls into six categories:

• Fresh

  • Fruits
  • Vegetables

• Natural form

  • Nuts
  • Tortillas

• Dried

  • Dried fruit
  • Dried beef

• Irradiated

  • Chicken breast
  • Smoked turkey

• Rehydratable

  • Spinach
  • Juices and beverages

• Thermostabilized

  • Tuna salads
  • Vanilla flan

Fresh food can be delivered periodically to the ISS by cargo vessel. Ground crews sometimes include a few fresh fruits and vegetables—a real luxury!

Thermostabilized foods have been heat-treated, while irradiated foods have been subjected to ionizing radiation to destroy certain microorganisms. The goal in every case is to preserve the foods.

In the future, when exploring the Moon for longer periods of time as part of the Artemis campaign, astronauts will not be able to bring all the food they need. They will need to grow healthy food in space.

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How microgravity affects taste

Does food taste the same in orbit as on Earth? Yes and no!

When they first arrive in space, most astronauts experience the sensation that their head and sinuses are congested: the effect is similar to having a cold. When you have a stuffed nose, you taste less and food seems bland.

Salt can also be used to season a meal in microgravity, provided that it is dissolved in water!

On Earth, the heart must work harder to pump blood to the head, against gravity. However, in orbit, in the absence of the downward pull of gravity, bodily fluids tend to rise to fill the head and sinuses.

However, after a few days, the situation improves. Still, flavourful foods are particularly appreciated! We hear that shrimp cocktails with horseradish sauce and curry are favourites of many astronauts!

In the space kitchen with Chef Chris Hadfield!

Sandwich

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Spinach

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Dessert

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Explore further

• Living in space
• Human space missions
• About being an astronaut

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Date modified: 2026-02-12