Astronaut Crew Leaves Peanut Butter Surprise in Space During Departure from International Space Station
In a delightful and unexpected gesture, the departing crew of astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) left behind a peanut butter surprise in space. The crew, known as Ax-3, consisted of four astronauts who were leaving the ISS aboard the Crew Dragon “Freedom” from SpaceX. Just moments after undocking at 9:20 a.m. EST (1320 GMT) earlier today (Feb. 7), on their way back to Earth, Ax-3 commander and retired NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría made a special call-out to the Expedition 70 astronauts.
“There’s some peanut butter waiting for you in the airlock entrance, on the forward side, enjoy,” López-Alegría said during a NASA Television broadcast as the spacecraft backed away from the ISS. The Crew Dragon had been docked at the Harmony module’s space-facing port side for a little over two weeks.
While the full menu for Ax-3 is not available, peanut butter has been a staple of astronaut preparation for decades. Interestingly, the Axiom Space private crew had the opportunity to spend National Peanut Butter Day in space, which is celebrated on January 24th each year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Peanut Board and other institutions.
Ax-3 is the third crewed mission to the ISS organized by Houston-based Axiom, following previous excursions in April 2022 and May 2023. When it comes to meal items, Axiom typically relies on a food scientist to select “various commercial off-the-shelf food products” that can withstand the unique environment of space with limited galley space. These include nutrition bars, candies, snacks, and shelf-stable entrées, as stated by Axiom officials in 2023.
However, Axiom is not the first to bring peanuts into space. NASA astronauts have been enjoying peanuts for generations. Cubes of peanuts were listed in the typical menu for the Gemini program, as mentioned in the 1967 book “Lectures in Aerospace Medicine.” Additionally, it is believed that various types of these cubes were also taken to the moon by the Apollo 11 landing crew in 1969, as evidenced by a picture from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.
In a 1966 television program for the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, NASA space food specialist Paul Lachance discussed these astronaut-friendly peanut cubes as the Gemini program transitioned to Apollo. He described them as compressed items, similar to beef, chicken, or cheese sandwiches, and even fruit cake. These cubes were easy to consume and required minimal preparation, making them ideal for space travel.
Peanut butter, whether separate from these peanut cubes or not, also made its way to the moon with Apollo astronauts in the 1960s and 1970s. It is mentioned in a NASA document from 1999 titled “Space Food and Nutrition” and a peer-reviewed study published in the journal Life Sciences in Space Research in 2023.
During those early space missions, food preparation was limited, and astronauts had to either eat food from tubes or packets or add a few squirts of water for rehydration. According to Lachance, the easiest travel foods at that time were powders or puddings that could be mixed with water to create a pudding-like consistency. This allowed astronauts to easily consume their meals in space.
Peanut butter continued to be a staple of the shuttle program, which had a small galley for food preparation. In fact, it was present on board the very first shuttle mission, STS-1, in 1981, as shown in a picture from the Smithsonian. Peanut butter has also been included in ISS missions and has made appearances in astronaut videos, such as Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield’s space cooking clips from 2012-2013 and NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough’s 2017 demonstration of preparing a peanut butter and tortilla sandwich in space.
The inclusion of peanut butter in space missions highlights its enduring popularity among astronauts. Its long history in space travel, from the early days of Gemini and Apollo to the present ISS missions, showcases its status as a beloved and reliable food item for astronauts. As Ax-3 bids farewell to the ISS, their peanut butter surprise serves as a reminder of the shared traditions and experiences that connect astronauts across generations.