NASA’s Artemis Astronauts: What They’ll Eat on the Moon Missions
NASA’s ambitious Artemis program aims to return humans to the Moon and establish a long-term presence there. A critical but often overlooked aspect of these missions is the food that will sustain the astronauts during their journey and surface operations. Unlike Earth-based meals, space food must be lightweight, shelf-stable, nutritious, and easy to prepare in the challenging environment of space.
Artemis II: The First Crewed Lunar Flyby
The upcoming Artemis II mission will send four astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—on a roughly 10-day trip around the Moon. This will be the first crewed flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft. With no refrigeration, no resupply capability, and strict limits on mass, volume, and power, the food system is meticulously planned.
Astronauts will have access to approximately 189 different food items and more than 10 beverage options. All meals are designed to be safe for long-term storage and consumption in microgravity, producing minimal crumbs or waste. The menu features a mix of ready-to-eat, rehydratable, thermostabilized, and irradiated foods.
Preparation is handled through Orion’s potable water dispenser for rehydration and a compact “Moon Oven”—a suitcase-sized food heater that uses springs to press packages against hot plates for warming meals. During launch and landing phases, when the water system is unavailable, astronauts rely solely on ready-to-eat items.
The crew personally sampled and rated potential foods to create customized menus that balance nutrition, taste preferences, and mission requirements. Popular choices include:
- Breakfast options: Blueberry granola, breakfast sausage patties, vegetable quiche, and fruit smoothies like strawberry or mango-peach.
- Main meals: Barbecued beef brisket, macaroni and cheese, chicken curry, pasta dishes, couscous with nuts, and mango salad.
- Vegetables and sides: Spicy green beans and broccoli au gratin.
- Snacks and treats: Almonds, cashews, maple cream cookies, chocolate pudding, and cake.
- Staples: Around 58 tortillas, valued for their versatility and low-crumb properties.
- Condiments: Five different hot sauces, along with mustard, jam, honey, peanut butter, almond butter, and maple syrup to enhance flavors.
Beverages are carefully portioned, with each astronaut limited to about two flavored drinks per day due to upmass constraints. Options include coffee (with a total of 43 cups allocated for the crew), lemonade, hot cocoa, green tea, apple cider, pineapple drink, and various smoothie-style breakfast beverages.
No fresh produce or refrigerated items will be carried, ensuring everything remains stable throughout the mission.
Future Artemis Missions: Lunar Surface Operations
For subsequent missions, such as Artemis III and beyond, which will include lunar landings and surface stays, the food system builds upon the Artemis II foundation while addressing additional challenges. Astronauts will spend extended time on the Moon’s surface, conduct long extravehicular activities (EVAs or moonwalks), and potentially operate from the Gateway lunar station or surface habitats.
Key adaptations include:
- Specialized nutrition for EVAs, such as drink bags or energy-dense food sticks integrated into spacesuits, providing 400–600+ calories during multi-hour moonwalks.
- Slightly improved preparation capabilities in habitats, including better rehydration systems.
- Continued emphasis on shelf-stable foods, with potential enhancements from NASA’s Space Food Systems Laboratory at Johnson Space Center.
While early surface missions will still depend primarily on pre-packed provisions from Earth, NASA is investing in research for sustainable food production through initiatives like the Deep Space Food Challenge. These efforts explore ways to grow or produce food in space or on the lunar surface for longer-duration stays.
Advancing Beyond Apollo
Artemis-era space food represents a significant upgrade from the Apollo missions’ tubes, cubes, and limited variety. Today’s menus offer greater diversity, better flavors (highlighted by the inclusion of hot sauces and hearty options like brisket), and personalization based on crew feedback. The focus remains on supporting astronaut health, performance, and morale while meeting the rigorous constraints of deep space travel.
Menus continue to evolve with each mission through extensive testing and crew input. As NASA prepares for humanity’s return to the Moon, the food system plays a vital role in ensuring mission success and crew well-being.
For the most current details on Artemis food systems, refer to official NASA resources, as final menus may see minor adjustments before launch.
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