Cravings know no bounds - not even in space! When a crew member on the International Space Station (ISS) yearned for sushi, their teammates sprang into action, determined to bring a taste of Earth's culinary magic to orbit. NASA astronaut Jonny Kim shared a mouth-watering glimpse into the crew's mealtime festivities on X (formerly Twitter). In the post, Kim revealed how the team came together to create "space sushi" for a recent crew celebration, using a clever combination of ingredients from their stash, including rice, Spam, fish, and a dash of gochujang, the spicy Korean chili paste, along with some wasabi for an extra kick.
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"Space sushi isn't quite the same as the fresh stuff on the ground, but it's not bad!" Kim wrote in his post. "We had a crew celebration recently, and one of our crewmates expressed how much they missed sushi (as do I). So, we collected and pitched in our personal supplies of fish, Spam, and rice, coupled with a dash of gochujang and wasabi, which made for a great meal." While the ingredients may not mirror those from a top Tokyo sushi bar, the sentiment behind the meal certainly struck a chord with space food fans back on Earth.
In true ISS fashion, the crew had to make do without traditional table settings. Kim explained that their "dinner table" is lined with tape, sticky side up, to keep utensils, food, and condiments from floating away in zero gravity. "One thing you'll notice that's different about our dinner table is that we orient the tape so the sticky side faces up," Kim added. "This allows us to stick food, utensils, and condiments to our table; otherwise, everything would float away."
Check out the post below:
Space sushi isn't quite the same as the fresh stuff on the ground, but it's not bad! We had a crew celebration recently and one of our crewmates expressed how much they missed sushi (as do I). So we collected and pitched in our personal supplies of fish, spam and rice, coupled… pic.twitter.com/0xhOhPXiv8— Jonny Kim (@JonnyKimUSA) June 16, 2025
Kim's post went viral online in no time. From humorous suggestions to technical questions, food fans had a field day in the comments. One X user applauded the astronaut crew's ingenuity, saying, "Your space sushi party sounds like a blast, and that sticky-tape table hack is genius for keeping it all together in zero gravity!" Another user chimed in with a practical observation, writing, "I suspect traditional dried nori is too flaky to be allowed in zero-g. Also, the thought of accidentally inhaling a rogue piece of wasabi brings tears to my eyes."
One user joked, "Someone send them a rolling mat; it would help with assembly." Another user pondered, "How do you guys get the rice and sushi to stay on the plate if the plate is taped to the table? Do you tape the food to the plate? Silly question." And, of course, one comment summed it all up with the charm and wonder of space travel: "Not the best sushi there, but I bet the view is amazing. Don't expect the best when you go out to space; expect a completely different experience from what you've experienced on Earth."
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It's a reminder that food, even in its most basic form, remains one of the most comforting connections to home, whether you're in Tokyo or floating thousands of kilometers above the Earth.