NASA recently revealed the food and drink menu for the astronauts aboard the historic Artemis II moon mission, which contains 189 unique items.
The mission includes four astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, and Victor Glover — and is currently in progress and on its return journey to Earth after a successful lunar flyby.
The launch took place on April 1, 2026, from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B using the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft.
I spy a lot of REAL FOOD on the Artemis II crew menu! Godspeed. 🇺🇸🚀 https://t.co/jk3MDKYrKI
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) April 1, 2026
Following the launch, NASA announced on its website that the food selections were done in coordination with space food experts and the crew to balance calorie requirements, hydration, and nutrient intake, and accommodated individual crew preferences.
According to the menu available online, the most common food items on board are tortillas, wheat flat bread, vegetable quiche, breakfast sausage, couscous with nuts, mango salad, granola with blueberries, and almonds.
In addition, some other items are cashews, barbecued beef brisket, broccoli au gratin, spicy green beans, macaroni and cheese, tropical fruit salad, butternut squash, and cauliflower.
In addition to the food items mentioned above, the crew also has the option of more than 10 different types of beverages, including coffee, green tea, a mango and peach smoothie, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry breakfast drinks, lemonade, apple cider, a pineapple drink, and cocoa.
NASA’s Artemis II astronauts spoke about the types of food they ate in space with Mission Specialist Christina Koch, showing various bags of food including shrimp cocktail. READ: https://t.co/Ct5H5oR0Cg pic.twitter.com/NDBdbTNtsY
— Reuters Science News (@ReutersScience) April 5, 2026
Moreover, the Artemis II astronauts also have options of different flavourings and sauces to spice up their meals, which include five different hot sauces.
If they want something for their sweet tooth, they can also have cookies, cobbler, cake, candy-coated almonds, and pudding to satisfy their cravings.
NASA said that astronauts on a typical mission day have a fixed time for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and each one is allotted two flavored beverages per day, which may include coffee.
However, beverage options are limited because of the upmass constraints, restricting how much food and drink can be carried onboard, as per the information provided by NASA.
Artemis II menus differ from the ones used during Apollo, space shuttle, and International Space Station missions.
Hello, Moon. It’s great to be back.
Here’s a taste of what the Artemis II astronauts photographed during their flight around the Moon. Check out more photos from the mission: https://t.co/rzM1P0QbOl pic.twitter.com/6jWINHkDLh
— NASA (@NASA) April 7, 2026
NASA revealed that Apollo missions mostly relied on early food technologies with limited variety, while space shuttle missions expanded the options and onboard preparation.
Meanwhile, the International Space Station benefits from regular resupply and occasional fresh foods, but Artemis II has used a fixed, pre-selected menu that is especially designed for a self-contained space vehicle with no resupply.
The announcement also mentioned that the food aboard Orion is ready-to-eat, rehydratable, thermostabilized, and irradiated.
Furthermore, the crew uses a special potable water dispenser to rehydrate foods and beverages, along with a compact food warmer to heat meals when required.
The website further mentioned the challenges that occur while designing and preparing food for a spacecraft like Orion, as designing food systems requires balancing nutrition, safety, and crew preference within strict mass, volume, and power limits.
NASA mentioned that the edible items must be easy to store, prepare, and consume in microgravity while minimizing waste.
