Space food is essential for surviving out in space. When manned flights began in the 1960s, astronauts had only some solid foods and a liquid diet from tubes, which did not rate well in terms of taste. Over the more than half century since, though, space food has undergone a transformation.

It was the International Space Station (ISS), collaboratively operated by 15 different countries from 1998, that helped drive these changes. Astronauts on the ISS eat a combination of standard meals provided by the U.S. and Russia and bonus meals that other astronauts bring from their home countries.

Japanese astronauts choose the bonus meals they will bring from among the space food developed by Japanese food manufacturers and independently certified by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). These meals must meet strict certification standards, with rigorous requirements regarding facility hygiene, packaging, and cooking methods to ensure that packages do not burst and food does not scatter in a microgravity environment. Of course, they must also be tasty.

In Japan, with its high food processing and hygiene management standards, the number of certified space food products has climbed to 56 as of March 2025, thanks to the participation of food manufacturers from across the country. One of these is canned mackerel developed over 14 years by high school students in Fukui Prefecture.

The established Japanese food maker that invented the world's first instant noodles in 1958 developed to be easy to eat even in a microgravity environment, with a thick broth and chunky noodles that keep their shape even when rehydrated in hot water. Fried chicken, a Japanese convenience store standard, is freeze-dried and transformed into space food that boasts the same delicious crispiness.

The Japanese space food menu is quite diverse, with everything from main dishes to sides, sweet treats and beverages that reflect traditional Japanese food culture. Curry rice, onigiri rice balls, yakisoba, and stewed hamburger steak offer the unpretentious, comforting flavors of Japanese home cooking.

Providing a moment of relaxing comfort in the depths of space far above the earth, healthy and delicious Japanese space food is very popular with astronauts from other countries, as well.

Hot water is added to Nisshin Yakisoba U.F.O. Instant Noodles, which are ready to eat when the liquid has been absorbed. (©JAXA)