ISS astronaut shares recipe for a 'ranger' burger | Space photo of the day for May 1, 2025
Jonny Kim, a NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station, proves that not all space food in a tube is bad.
A space food stack comprised of wheat snack bread, beef steak, cheese spread, potatoes au gratin and gochujang red pepper paste floats aboard the International Space Station before NASA astronaut Jonny Kim enjoys it as a snack.
What is it?
Jonny Kim is no stranger to devising new recipes from pre-packaged meals. A former U.S. Navy SEAL-turned-NASA astronaut, he demonstrated his retention for this skill using the food items found aboard the International Space Station and a special delivery from a recent cargo delivery.
"If you've lived on MREs, you've probably tried some creative field recipes," wrote Kim on social media, referring to the military-issued Meals Ready to Eat. "Here is a twist on the ranger burger, one of my favorites: beef steak, wheat snack bread, cheese spread as both topping and glue, potatoes au gratin layered in the middle, and a generous slather of gochujang red pepper paste from a care package on the SpX-32 Cargo Dragon."
Where is it?
Kim is aboard the International Space Station, orbiting Earth at about 260 miles high (418 kilometers).
He took this photo of his floating food inside the Unity module, which links the U.S. operating segment of the station to the Russian segment. It has a table where the astronauts and cosmonauts living on the outpost like to come together for group meals.
Why is it amazing?
When people think of space food, especially early space food, they may think of food in a tube, which then may lead them to think, "yuck." Here, though, Kim demonstrates some good things come in tubes, such as his gochujang red pepper paste.
In microgravity, foods tend to taste bland because of fluid shifts in our body and smells no longer wafting up into our nose. To correct for this, astronauts tend to prefer spicy foods or adding spicy sauces, like sriracha, tabasco or red pepper paste.
Want to know more?
You can read more about space food and why food may taste different or weird in space. You can also read more about astronaut Jonny Kim.
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Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, a daily news publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of "Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018.In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History. In 2023, the National Space Club Florida Committee recognized Pearlman with the Kolcum News and Communications Award for excellence in telling the space story along the Space Coast and throughout the world.
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