Artemis II Menu: What’s on the Plate?
The meals onboard Artemis II are crafted to support the crew’s health and performance during the lunar mission. With no resupply, no refrigeration, and no late-load options, every meal must be carefully chosen to stay safe, shelf-stable, and easy to prepare and eat inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Food teams work with space-food experts and the crew to balance calories, hydration, and nutrients while honoring individual tastes and preferences.
Below are common questions about how NASA designs and prepares Artemis II’s food system to keep astronauts healthy:
What factors influence food selection and packaging for a mission like Artemis II?
- Food choices consider shelf life, safety, nutritional value, crew preferences, and how well they fit Orion’s mass, volume, and power limits.
- The foods must be simple to prepare and eat in microgravity, minimize crumbs, and remain stable throughout the mission.
- The crew’s input comes in well before meals are packed for the flight.
How are daily meal plans built for astronauts on a typical day (excluding launch and reentry)?
- On a standard day, astronauts have breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with two flavored beverages per person daily (which may include coffee).
- Beverage options are restricted by upmass constraints, limiting how much food and drink can be carried aboard.
- Fresh foods won’t be aboard Artemis II because Orion lacks refrigeration and late-load capability. Shelf-stable foods help maintain safety and quality over the mission’s duration, while also reducing crumbs or particulates in microgravity.
How do Artemis II menus compare with those from Apollo, the space shuttle, and the International Space Station (ISS)?
- Artemis II menus reflect decades of progress in space food technology. Apollo offered basic, limited variety; the shuttle expanded choices and on-board prep; the ISS benefits from regular resupply, including occasional fresh items. Artemis II, by contrast, uses a fixed, pre-selected menu designed for a self-contained vehicle with no resupply.
How much input does the Artemis II crew have in choosing meals?
- The crew directly influences menu selection. They sample, evaluate, and rate foods on the standard menu during preflight testing, and their preferences are weighed against nutritional needs and Orion’s capabilities. Final, crew-specific menus are determined well before launch. Each astronaut receives two to three days’ worth of food packed together in a single container, providing flexibility for meal choices during the mission.
How are menus tailored for different mission phases, such as launch, transit, and re-entry?
- Menus are adapted to the spacecraft’s food-making capabilities during each phase. Some foods, like freeze-dried options, require hydration with Orion’s water dispenser, which isn’t available during launch and landing. Therefore, those phases use ready-to-eat items that fit the spacecraft’s constraints, while a broader range of options becomes available once full food-prep systems are active.
How is space food prepared aboard Orion?
- Orion’s food is ready-to-eat, rehydratable, thermostabilized, or irradiated. The crew uses a portable water dispenser to rehydrate items and a compact, briefcase-style device to heat meals as needed.
What challenges accompany designing food for a contained spacecraft like Orion?
- The key challenge is balancing nutrition, safety, and crew preference within strict mass, volume, and power limits inside a small, shared cabin.
- Foods must be easy to store, prepare, and eat in microgravity while minimizing crumbs and waste. Preparation is kept deliberately straightforward, using ready-to-eat, rehydrated, thermostabilized, or irradiated foods that won’t interfere with crew operations or spacecraft systems.
Watch: How to Eat in Space Aboard Orion
Note: This summary reflects information released publicly and may evolve as Artemis II plans progress.
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