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Astronauts aboard the ISS might not enjoy many earthly pleasures, but this year’s Thanksgiving menu is truly out of this world.
Marking 50 years of Thanksgiving dinners in space, the crew of the ISS have shared what they will be eating to celebrate the holiday this year.
The stellar menu features traditional fare such as roast turkey, cranberry sauce, and cran-apple dessert as well as some more unusual picks.
This year’s menu will also include duck, quail and seafood as well as chocolate, rice cake, and mochi.
And, to really put the star in Starbucks, the astronauts will also be enjoying pumpkin spice cappuccinos to warm them in the cold vacuum of space.
In a video posted by NASA’s Johnson Space Center, NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara spoke alongside Andreas Mogensen from the European Space Agency and Satoshi Furukawa from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
In a video posted by NASA’s Johnson Space Center, NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara spoke alongside Andreas Mogensen from the European Space Agency and Satoshi Furukawa from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
‘We will be celebrating Thanksgiving in space, but our thoughts are with our families at home and everyone else on Earth celebrating Thanksgiving,’ said ISS commander Andreas Mogensen.
Loral O’Hara added: ‘Onboard the space station, we’re looking forward to a quiet day off and also a nice Thanksgiving dinner together.’
Ms O’Hara then showed off some parts of the crew’s specially prepared dinner items.
‘We’ve got some roast turkey, cranberry sauce, butternut squash – one of my favourites – corn, and to finish can-apple desert,’ she said.
To really put the star in Starbucks, the astronauts will be enjoying pumpkin spice cappuccinos to warm them in the cold vacuum of space
While the menu might be similar, the Thanksgiving dinner enjoyed by the astronauts will not look much like ours here on Earth.
The roast turkey, for example, is vacuum-sealed into a clear plastic bag.
Only the cranberry sauce keeps its familiar appearance as that, just like on Earth, still comes in a can.
This year’s special meal was delivered to the ISS alongside 6,500lbs (2,948kg) of supplies aboard an uncrewed SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on 9 November.
With a crew from three different countries, NASA has also included a few treats that might not be so usual for an American celebration.
In an update, NASA said the crewmates are ‘due to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast with items such as turkey, duck, quail, seafood, and cranberry sauce.’
‘Treats awaiting the crew include chocolate, pumpkin spice cappuccino, rice cake, and mochi,’ it added.
Some of these items may be personal requests from the astronauts, as NASA says ‘crew preference is also considered when planning festive meals in space.’
On a more serious note, Ms O’Hara added: ‘We would also like to recognise that not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving in the same way.
‘While this is a time for gratitude it’s also a time to reflect on our history and remember those who might not get to go home for Thanksgiving or enjoy Thanksgiving dinner.
‘We hope everyone gets to enjoy moments filled with peace and spend time with their friends and family, loved ones, and with planet Earth.’
Astronaut Jasmine Moghbeli added: ‘This year aboard the International Space Station, we’re thankful for many things, one of which is our unique vantage point looking back at our beautiful home planet, Earth.
The International Space Station (ISS) is a $100 billion (£80 billion) science and engineering laboratory that orbits 250 miles (400 km) above Earth
Over 50 years, the Thanksgiving dinner on the ISS has evolved. Here Michael Hopkins (left) and Rick Mastracchio (right) show off their 2013 dinner of smoked turkey, green beans, and stuffing
‘It’s a reminder to us that, while everyone we know and love is back home on Earth, we need to take care of it and protect it.’
This year is the 50th year that NASA astronauts have celebrated Thanksgiving in space, beginning in 1973 when the crew of Skylab first marked the holiday.
However, back then there was no special food shipment and the crew of Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson, and William Pogue still had to work a full day.
Carr, Gibson, and Pogue had to skip lunch to undertake a six-hour spacewalk and instead celebrated by eating two meals at dinner time.
The holiday wasn’t celebrated again for another 12 years until 1985 when the crew of the ISS dinned on shrimp cocktail, irradiated turkey, and cranberry sauce.
So while this year’s crew might still be eating out of plastic bags, they certainly have a lot to be grateful for when it comes to the quality of dinner on offer.
EXPLAINED: THE $100 BILLION INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SITS 250 MILES ABOVE THE EARTH
The International Space Station (ISS) is a $100 billion (£80 billion) science and engineering laboratory that orbits 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.
It has been permanently staffed by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts since November 2000.
Crews have come mainly from the US and Russia, but the Japanese space agency JAXA and European space agency ESA have also sent astronauts.
The International Space Station has been continuously occupied for more than 20 years and has been expended with multiple new modules added and upgrades to systems
Research conducted aboard the ISS often requires one or more of the unusual conditions present in low Earth orbit, such as low-gravity or oxygen.
ISS studies have investigated human research, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology.
The US space agency, NASA, spends about $3 billion (£2.4 billion) a year on the space station program, with the remaining funding coming from international partners, including Europe, Russia and Japan.
So far 244 individuals from 19 countries have visited the station, and among them eight private citizens who spent up to $50 million for their visit.
There is an ongoing debate about the future of the station beyond 2025, when it is thought some of the original structure will reach ‘end of life’.
Russia, a major partner in the station, plans to launch its own orbital platform around then, with Axiom Space, a private firm, planning to send its own modules for purely commercial use to the station at the same time.
NASA, ESA, JAXA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) are working together to build a space station in orbit around the moon, and Russia and China are working on a similar project, that would also include a base on the surface.
