It’s the first time astronauts have ordered a pizza to be made for dinner on the International Space Station, and it’s all thanks to pinged nutrition information.
A special experiment in NASA’s food preparation lab on the International Space Station, the experiment capitalises on this feat of space physics and food design.
On the ground, the data streams from a test of food safety has provided 3,000 recipe options, according to Steve Drucker, the project’s manager.
“The recipes may start with the same measurements for four or five different ingredients, but we have different recipes for different countries, different climates, different time frames,” Drucker said.
With the new information, NASA scientists have been able to choose recipes from some 40 countries using their Asian cookbook as a starting point.
“Whether it’s for example, a Thai meal or a Mexican one, the recipes really represent an international palate, just because we sampled food from so many different countries,” Drucker said.
Recently astronauts on the ISS ate a US pineapple pie for their first night on the station. While some of the alternatives have been more exciting than the real thing, the pizza has proved popular, with one astronaut commenting that it tasted better than pizza on Earth.
The Pizza Science experiment isn’t the first time NASA has tapped into restaurant catering to create the food astronauts eat on the ISS. In September 2012 the agency debuted space-style curries and sushi and low-gravity bacon.