> In 1962, what was the first food eaten in outer space by an American astronaut?And the answer is: applesauce. Photo credit: NASA.On board the Friendship 7 spacecraft, John Glenn became thefirst American astronaut to eat in space. At that time, it wasn't yet known ifingestion was possible in a state of zero gravity. Glenn's consumption ofapplesauce showed that people could eat, swallow, and digest food in aweightless environment.In a manner not unlike that of a camping trip, astronauts have food speciallypackaged and prepared for orbital consumption. Many things can be consumed asnormal, such as fruit and brownies, yet other things such as salt and peppermust be prepared in liquid forms. Some meals require the addition of water totheir mix, and others must be slightly altered due to the lack of refrigeration.As astronauts spend more and more time above Earth, new ways to eat (and thingsto eat) are continually uncovered. Space food has come a long way since John Glenn’s applesauce. In the beginning,astronauts used straws to suck dehydrated, paste-like food out of tubes. Astechnology improved, however, the menu for space consumption has steadilyexpanded. Now, while many foods (and most liquids) are dehydrated into a morepliable form before flight, astronauts' options are increasingly diverse, fromspaghetti to cheese to Kung Pao Chicken. Did you know?The first batch of space cookies was baked in December 2019 aboard theInternational Space Station. Taking about two hours to bake, the cookies werethe first ever inter-planetary desserts to be made.