Here's what Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore ate during their time in space

According to The New York Post, pizza, roast chicken, and shrimp cocktails were available to the two astronauts at ISS. However, the two had very little fresh produce to supplement their diets

Astronauts Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Willmore have finally returned to Earth after spending almost nine months at the International Space Station (ISS).  The two Nasa astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule splashed off the coast of Florida on Wednesday (IST).

 

They were part of the Crew-9 mission that went into space in June 2024 in a Boeing Starliner for a mission that was supposed to last only a week. However, technical malfunctions including unexpected propulsion system failures and docking complications delayed their return. 

 

While everybody was anticipating a safe return for the two astronauts stuck at ISS for 288 days, concerns over what they ate during their stay had also been surfacing. Here’s all you need to know about what the two Nasa astronauts ate during their prolonged stay at ISS:

 

According to a report in The New York Post, pizza, roast chicken, and shrimp cocktails were available to the two astronauts at ISS. However, the two had very little fresh produce to supplement their diets. Citing a specialist, the report mentioned that Williams and Willmore have access to a variety of foods including breakfast cereals with powdered milk, and tuna, along with pizza, roast chicken, and shrimp cocktails.

 

It further added that the grub, which is developed at the Space Food Systems Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, is limited when it comes to fresh fruit and vegetables, and the produce is only replenished every three months. Further, it was highlighted that fresh fruits were available to the two astronauts at first, however, they ran out of it in three months. Citing the insider, the report also stated, "There’s fresh fruit at first, but as the three months continues that goes away — and their fruits and vegetables are packaged or freeze-dried.”

 

The food that is available for astronauts is usually personalised to meet the daily requirements of the astronauts and is usually freeze-dried or packaged. It can be reheated using a food warmer available at the space station.

 

A Nasa report also suggested that nearly 3.8 pounds of food per astronaut per day is stocked at the ISS, ‘with a stockpile of additional food for any unexpected extension of missions’.

The New York Post in its report also mentioned that the food available to the astronauts, especially the meat and eggs are cooked on Earth and are only required to be reheated in space. Meanwhile, the water requirement for dehydrated soups, stews, and casseroles is fulfilled from ISS’s 530-gallon fresh water tank.