Space Food

Loading Process

Tasting by astronauts

Japanese space foods to be loaded will be selected based on the result of food tasting sessions for assigned astronauts to the ISS long-stay missions. Selected foods will be loaded on spacecraft^※ for transporting cargoes to the ISS at timings of these astronauts' long-stay missions.

Below is an outline of the process until selection of Japanese space foods to be loaded and transported on spacecraft.

※ Japanese H-II transfer vehicle (HTV) "KOUNOTORI", U.S. commercial cargo transport spacecraft, etc

Loading Process

1. JAXA maintains the list of certified Japanese space foods up to date.
2. JAXA holds food tasting sessions for astronauts assigned to ISS long-stay mission by the ISS Program. These astronauts select satisfactory Japanese space foods for transportation to the ISS and JAXA places orders with the appropriate manufacturers (certified food manufacturers) for such products.
3. Such manufacturers start producing the selected Japanese space foods and deliver them to JAXA.
4. JAXA conducts acceptance inspections of delivered Japanese space foods and transfers them to the launch organization.
5. The transferred Japanese space foods are loaded into the spacecraft and transported to the ISS.

(Images below are provided by JAXA.)