NASA's 'Space Cheeseburger' Does Not Look Like It Would Taste Out Of This World

Laura Rosenfeld, Tech Times 24 February 2015, 03:02 pm

Let me preface this by saying that I still believe astronauts only eat that freeze-dried "Space Ice Cream" you always see in museum gift shops. But even I know food should not look like this in space. Food should not look like this anywhere.

Astronaut Terry Virts, who is currently at the International Space Station, tweeted out a photo of what he calls a "space cheeseburger" last week. However, it really just looks fake and rubber-y and altogether gross. The fact that it includes beef patties, Russian mustard, tomato paste and cheese paste all rolled up in a tortilla doesn't make it any better.

#SpaceCheeseburger. Beef patties, Russian mustard, tomato paste, cheese paste, and tortilla. VERY TASTY! pic.twitter.com/OrJ7Kqr3IW

— Terry W. Virts (@AstroTerry) February 19, 2015

I can't believe Virts ate that monstrosity. He actually seems to have enjoyed it too, although maybe the all caps "VERY TASTY!" is a sign that he was being sarcastic? Let's hope so.

What's more troubling, perhaps, is that Virts considers this food to be a cheeseburger. Meat plus cheese plus sauce plus tortilla most definitely equals "space taco." It's simple math, really.

Oh well. As long as Virts enjoyed this delicacy, that's really all that matters, I suppose. It's not like he can just order something on Seamless or pop into a Chipotle, anyway. This has definitely quelled all of my curiosity about what astronauts eat in space though, I have to tell you. I don't want to know anything more.

However, maybe this so-called "space cheeseburger" is really the breakfast of champions. A couple of days after Virts tweeted about this concoction, he took his first spacewalk and documented the momentous occasion with selfies.