What do you think of eating mango salad in space while floating? Sounds a little far-fetched, right? But not for Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla. He shared a video from the International Space Station showing how he prepared his mango salad in microgravity, and it’s safe to say that we are stunned!
Shubhanshu Shukla Makes Mango Salad In Space
People who like everything space may find this interesting! Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian ever to visit the International Space Station (ISS), keeps sharing what he did in space during Axiom Mission 4 on his official Instagram page. A few months back, he shared how his team baked a cake, and now the astronaut is back with another video of him preparing one of his favourites: mango salad for lunch.
The video shows him holding the dehydrated mango salad in a packet. Shubhanshu plugs the packet into a machine which dispenses cold water into the packet (50 ml). Once the packet gets filled up, Shubhanshu takes out the packet, mixes it by tossing the packet around in the air and puts it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. And done! The space-special mango salad is ready to be gobbled down in microgravity.
Also Read: No Pulao In Space? Shubhanshu Shukla Reveals Only 3 Indian Dishes Travelled To Space
Each Type Of Dish Requires A Different Preparation
In the video, Shubhanshu can be seen floating while preparing his special lunch. The caption under the video reads, “What’s for lunch when your restaurant is travelling at 28,000 km/h? According to him, food on the space station is an activity in itself. It comes in different forms like dehydrated, freeze-dried and thermally stabilised. Each type of dish requires a slightly different preparation.
Shubhanshu shared that they can either put it in the refrigerator or a food warmer, since microwaves are not available on the ISS. The crumbs from the food also don’t fall politely onto your plate like they would on Earth. They float around and sometimes find their way into the equipment. He ended the caption by writing, “ So, even a simple mango salad comes with a little science, a little technique and, occasionally, a lot of patience. Bon appétit… from orbit.”
This is super cool, right? We always wonder what astronauts actually eat while in space. But it seems like their food is fancy, and it does come with a lot more science. And yes, not even an eight-course meal at a five-star hotel can match the thrill of eating a mango salad in space!
Also Read: Shubhanshu Shukla Shares How Astronauts Baked A Cake On ISS With Just 4 Humble Ingredients
Eating food on Earth or eating in space? What would you choose?
Cover Image Courtesy: Shubhanshu Shukla/Instagram
FAQs
Who is Shubhanshu Shukla?
Shubhanshu Shukla is an Indian astronaut and Group Captain who travelled to the International Space Station for Axiom Mission 4.