Artemis II Astronauts Circle Moon With 58 Tortillas, Hot Sauce

NASA's four Artemis II astronauts are currently orbiting the moon with a food selection that would make their Apollo predecessors jealous.

Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, and Christina Koch are enjoying meals like beef brisket, macaroni and cheese, and broccoli au gratin during their 10-day journey around the moon. They packed 58 tortillas, which remain a space travel favorite because they don't create crumbs that float around the spacecraft.

The crew started Friday morning with vegetable quiche, scrambled eggs, couscous with nuts, peaches, oatmeal, and even a muffin. Coffee lovers will appreciate that NASA allocated 43 cups of joe for the mission, giving each astronaut about 10 cups across the journey.

The real game changer? A briefcase-style food warmer that lets the crew enjoy hot meals. Apollo astronauts never had this luxury, making this mission's dining experience significantly more comfortable.

Beyond the main courses, the astronauts can choose from nine beverages including lemonade, green tea, apple cider, and chocolate breakfast drinks. Each crew member gets two non-water drinks daily. Five varieties of hot sauce are onboard for those who like extra flavor, along with cookies and chocolate for dessert.

Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen brought five special items from home, including wild keta salmon bites, shrimp curry, strawberry lavender cereal, maple cream cookies, and maple syrup. These personal touches help make the spacecraft feel a little less isolated.

The Ripple Effect

The menu didn't happen by accident. NASA had the astronauts participate in extensive taste tests before launch, rating and evaluating every option. The agency balanced their preferences with nutritional requirements and what the Orion spacecraft could physically accommodate.

This attention to crew comfort represents a broader shift in space exploration. As missions get longer and more ambitious, NASA recognizes that small quality-of-life improvements make a big difference in astronaut wellbeing and mission success.

The Artemis II mission marks humanity's return to lunar orbit after decades, and doing it with warm meals and good coffee shows how far space travel has evolved since the 1960s.