Space Sushi: NASA’s Zero-Gravity Dinner Sparks Debate — 260 Miles Up, Critics Call It ‘Fancy Prison Food’
NASA has sent men to the Moon, rovers to Mars, and probes around Saturn’s rings. Yet the agency’s space dining remains a topic of conversation. NASA released a photo of what astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) call “space sushi.” The image shows sushi made with seaweed, rice, and tuna or Spam, held together in the weightlessness of orbit. You’d think such ingredients would be easy to assemble, but in space the result still looks far from the traditional rolls loved on Earth. Public reaction on Instagram was sharp and playful. One viewer wrote: “This is pretty much fancy prison food.” Another added: “3/10 on earth. 10/10 in space.” A third quip asked: “Are astronauts allergic to spice?” The moment isn’t just about a single plate. It highlights a fundamental truth: space food must travel from Earth, be shelf-stable, and be mess-free, all while trying not to taste dull.
How Space Food Really Works: Shelf-Stable Meals, Global Flavors, and the ISS Menu
NASA explains that almost all astronauts’ food has to blast off from Earth in jam-packed spacecraft and must be shelf-stable and mess-free. That doesn’t mean it has to be boring, though. Our orbiting crew chows down on meals from around the world, with space pizzas made using tortillas instead of dough, and finger foods like the items shown in the photo. The latest feast included two unusual creations: space sushi and shrimp cocktail. The sushi consists of square seaweed sheets topped with blobs of rice and a slab of tuna or Spam. The shrimp cocktail sits on a wholegrain wheat cracker with a prawn that looks unusually orange. NASA notes that the sushi stays put thanks to surface tension from its moisture, while the shrimp-and-cracker duo is kept in place by condiments. Earlier, astronaut Jonny Kim shared a photo of a “cheeseburger” floating in zero gravity—an outing 260 miles above Earth, yet surprisingly simple in its ingredients: wheat snack bread as the bun, a beef patty, and congealed cheese.
ISS: A $100 Billion Laboratory and a Global Mission to Build the Future in Orbit
The International Space Station (ISS) is a $100 billion (about £80 billion) science and engineering laboratory that orbits roughly 250 miles (400 km) above Earth. It has been permanently staffed by rotating crews since November 2000. Crews have come mainly from the United States and Russia, but Japan’s JAXA and Europe’s ESA have also contributed astronauts. The ISS has been continuously occupied for more than 20 years and has expanded with multiple new modules and system upgrades. ISS research covers human studies, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy, and meteorology. NASA spends about $3 billion a year on the space station program, with the remainder funded by international partners. So far, 244 individuals from 19 countries have visited the station, including eight private citizens who paid up to $50 million for their trip. There is ongoing debate about the station’s future beyond 2025. Russia plans its own orbital platform, while private firms like Axiom Space intend to add commercial modules. NASA, ESA, JAXA, and CSA are pursuing a space station in orbit around the Moon, and Russia and China are pursuing similar projects.
