A zero-gravity snack: Astronauts bake the first cookies in space

Two hours, raw ingredients, and a zero-gravity oven. With these resources, astronauts baked the first cookies in outer space.

Last December, Luca Parmitano and Christina Koch, stationed at the International Space Station (ISS), baked five chocolate chip cookies from frozen dough to determine cooking times and temperatures in zero gravity and why they differ from Earth. While the experiment appears to be just a fun study, it has important consequences in long-term mission food solutions and astronaut mental health.

Koch tweeted, “We made space cookies and milk for Santa this year. Happy holidays from the @Space_Station!” Often missing planet Earth, astronauts look for ways to stay connected to loved ones back home. Fresh food could be a solution to the issues of low morale and isolation in longer space missions. 

NanoRacks and Zero G Kitchen, companies that specialize in commercial space products, are designing tools to help accomplish this goal. The zero-gravity oven used in this experiment operates much like a toaster oven, using electric heating elements inside an insulated chamber. It was pushed to its limits on the ISS, with the cookies baking longer and at higher temperatures than they would on Earth.

Fresh food could be a solution to the issues of low morale and isolation in longer space missions. 

The first four cookies were baked at a standard 300 degrees Fahrenheit, with oven time increasing from 25 minutes in trial one to 120 minutes in trial four — the first to begin browning, even releasing the aroma of warm cookies into the station. The fifth and final trial was baked for 130 minutes at 325 degrees, the oven’s maximum temperature, and was reported to be the most successful cookie — visually and aromatically resembling those on Earth. 

Further experimentation is needed to answer why the cookies took six times longer to bake than on Earth; however, other characteristics remained mostly constant. Scientists had speculated that microgravity could shape the dough into spheres, but DoubleTree, the experiment’s cookie dough supplier, stated they appear circular and raised like regular cookies. The smell also retained its familiar warmth, bringing the astronauts aboard a reminder of home.

Regarding taste, the three cookies that returned to Earth must be tested before consumption to ensure their safety, even though they are expected to pass this test. As a treat for us on Earth, we may be able to see the first space-baked cookies on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, where DoubleTree has donated one of the cookies.

Image source: Pixabay.