Artemis II: What’s on the Menu?

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The food flying aboard Artemis II is designed to support the health and performance of the crew during the mission around the Moon. Without restocking, refrigeration, or late loading capability, all meals must be carefully selected to remain safe, shelf-stable, and easy to prepare and consume on NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Food selections are developed in coordination with space nutrition experts and the crew to balance caloric needs, hydration and nutrient intake while taking into account the crew’s individual preferences.

Here are frequently asked questions about how NASA is designing and preparing food systems for Artemis II to support crew health:

Food selection for Artemis II takes into account shelf life, food safety, nutritional value, crew preferences, and compatibility with Orion’s mass, volume, and power requirements. Food must be easy to prepare and consume in microgravity, minimize crumbs, and remain safe and stable throughout the mission. The crew provided input long before meals were prepared for the test flight.

On a typical mission day, excluding launch and reentry, astronauts schedule time for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Each astronaut receives two flavored drinks per day, which may include coffee. Beverage options are limited due to mass constraints, which limit the amount of food and beverages that can be carried on board.

Fresh food will not fly on Artemis II because Orion does not have refrigeration or the late loading capability required for fresh food. Shelf-stable foods help manage food safety and quality throughout the expected shelf life in a compact, self-contained spacecraft, while also reducing the risk of crumbs or particles in microgravity.

Artemis II menus reflect decades of advances in space food systems. The Apollo missions relied on old food technologies with limited variety, while the Space Shuttle missions expanded menu options and preparation on board. The International Space Station benefits from regular resupply and occasional fresh food. In contrast, Artemis II uses a fixed, pre-selected menu designed for an autonomous space vehicle without resupply.

The Artemis II crew is directly involved in menu selection. Crew members sample, evaluate and score all foods on the standard menu during pre-flight testing, and their preferences are balanced with nutritional needs and what Orion can accommodate. Final crew-specific menus are defined well before launch. Two to three days’ worth of food for each crew member is packed into a single container, providing flexibility in meal selection during the mission.

The menus are adapted according to the meal preparation capabilities of the spacecraft at each moment of flight. Some foods, such as freeze-dried meals, require hydration using Orion’s drinking water dispenser, which is not available during certain phases, including launch and landing. As a result, foods selected for these phases must be ready-to-eat and compatible with the operational constraints of the spacecraft, while a wider range of food options will be available once the full food preparation systems are operational.

Food on board Orion is ready-to-eat, rehydrating, heat-stabilized or irradiated. The crew uses Orion’s drinking water dispenser to rehydrate food and drinks, as well as a compact briefcase-style food warmer to reheat meals as needed.

Designing food systems for Orion requires balancing crew nutrition, safety and preferences within strict limits of mass, volume and power within a compact, shared cabin.

Food must be easy to store, prepare and consume in microgravity while minimizing crumbs and waste. Preparation is intentionally simple, using ready-to-eat, rehydratable, heat-stabilized, or irradiated foods that can be prepared safely without interfering with crew operations or spacecraft systems.