SpaceX Rocket Takes Thanksgiving Treats to International Space Station
- SpaceX brought a new shipment of supplies to International Space Station on Saturday.
- It provided new solar arrays and dwarf tomato seeds — and a range of Thanksgiving treats.
- These included spicy green beans, cranberry apple desserts, pumpkin pie and candy corn.
SpaceX launched its 26th resupply mission to the International Space Station on Saturday — transporting 7,700 pounds of materials, including an array of belated Thanksgiving treats.
CBS News reported that the festive food items included ice creams, candy corn, spicy green beans and cranberry and Apple desserts, as well as almond pumpkin pie and cranberry and cranberry desserts.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket measuring 215 feet was launched Saturday at 2:20 PM from NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The original launch date was Tuesday. However, the stormy weather delayed the launch and meant that the Thanksgiving feast arrived a few extra days late.
—NASA (@NASA) November 26, 2022
SpaceX brought along a variety of science experiments and new solar arrays for the International Space Station.
These include the “Moon Microscope”, which can be used to diagnose in-flight medical conditions, and the “Falcon Goggles,” that capture high-speed video of the eye movements of astronauts to evaluate the effects of microgravity.
“Devices of this nature will prove invaluable as we strive to prepare astronauts for long-duration exploration missions on the Moon and beyond,” Cherie Oubre, NASA’s deputy flight scientist, said.
A cargo of the Falcon 9 also contains dwarf tomato seeds. These will be an important part of ongoing efforts to grow fresh food from space.
NASA will be looking at longer-term missions including Mars missions. NASA’s typical astronaut diet may need to be supplemented with fresh space food.
Space station astronauts have successfully tested “Veggie”, a plant-growth unit that is specifically designed for space stations.
They have tasted and grown a variety of leafy greens. Now, they’re looking to add fresh dwarf tomatoes — specifically, Red Robin tomatoes — to their space-grown diets.