Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Astronaut food is not known as a frontier of culinary imagination, unless you count rehydrated shrimp cocktail. As NASA prepares for longer trips to the moon and Mars, is space cuisine ready for an overhaul?
Flora speaks with retired astronaut Clayton Anderson, who spent 167 days in space, and chef David Skinner, who has advised NASA on how to make food for astronauts better.
Guests:
Clayton Anderson spent 15 years as a NASA astronaut, with stints on the International Space Station in 2007 and 2010. He’s currently based in Nebraska.
David Skinner is the executive chef and owner of Eculent and Ishtia, two Houston restaurants. He’s advised NASA on how to make food for astronauts better.
Other episodes you may enjoy:
• Mission Orbital Eats: Engineer Foods For Extreme Environments (sciencefriday.com/educational-resources/foods-for-extreme-environments/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri?)
• Making A Meal Fit For An Astronaut (sciencefriday.com/segments/nasa-chef-astronaut-food?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri?)
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com (sciencefriday.com/segments/astronaut-food-improvement-space-missions?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri?) . (sciencefriday.com/segments/parenting-tips-from-the-animal-kingdom/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri)
Subscribe to this podcast. (pod.link/73329284) Follow our show on Instagram (instagram.com/scifri/) , TikTok (tiktok.com/@scifri) , Facebook (facebook.com/scifri) , and Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/scifri.bsky.social) @scifri and sign up for our newsletters (sciencefriday.com/newsletters/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) . Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 (about:invalid#zCSafez)
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Astronaut food is not known as a frontier of culinary imagination, unless you count rehydrated shrimp cocktail. As NASA prepares for longer trips to the moon and Mars, is space cuisine ready for an overhaul?
Flora speaks with retired astronaut Clayton Anderson, who spent 167 days in space, and chef David Skinner, who has advised NASA on how to make food for astronauts better.
Guests:
Clayton Anderson spent 15 years as a NASA astronaut, with stints on the International Space Station in 2007 and 2010. He’s currently based in Nebraska.
David Skinner is the executive chef and owner of Eculent and Ishtia, two Houston restaurants. He’s advised NASA on how to make food for astronauts better.
Other episodes you may enjoy:
• Mission Orbital Eats: Engineer Foods For Extreme Environments (sciencefriday.com/educational-resources/foods-for-extreme-environments/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri?)
• Making A Meal Fit For An Astronaut (sciencefriday.com/segments/nasa-chef-astronaut-food?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri?)
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com (sciencefriday.com/segments/astronaut-food-improvement-space-missions?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri?) . (sciencefriday.com/segments/parenting-tips-from-the-animal-kingdom/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri)
Subscribe to this podcast. (pod.link/73329284) Follow our show on Instagram (instagram.com/scifri/) , TikTok (tiktok.com/@scifri) , Facebook (facebook.com/scifri) , and Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/scifri.bsky.social) @scifri and sign up for our newsletters (sciencefriday.com/newsletters/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri) . Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 (about:invalid#zCSafez)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
