See astronauts throw a pizza party in space
International Space Station astronauts make their own edible flying saucers after NASA sends up a special meal kit.
Italian Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli has been floating around on the International Space Station for over 100 days. That's a long time to go without one of his favorite foods.
Nespoli casually mentioned how much he misses pizza, and his team down on Earth listened. NASA's Kirk Shireman, the manager of the ISS program, made sure to send all the ingredients for a pizza party along with the most recent Cygnus resupply ship.
When you really, really miss pizza... you CASUALLY mention it to the International @Space_Station Boss during a live public event 😉 Thank you Kirk for surprising us with unexpectedly delicious pizzas! #VITAmission pic.twitter.com/WstvG3IKr1
— Paolo Nespoli (@astro_paolo) December 2, 2017
The pizza kit included prepackaged Boboli crusts, a squeeze bottle full of pizza sauce, smoked gouda spreadable cheese wedges and various topping options, including olives and pepperoni.
Nespoli wasn't the only astronaut to get a thrill from the meal. NASA's Randy Bresnik shared his joy on Twitter over the weekend:
Flying Saucers of the edible kind. Pizza Pie created from scratch, the IPDS (Intergalactic Pizza Devouring Squad) says 12 thumbs up! pic.twitter.com/rPPEOEljsF
— Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade) December 2, 2017
The astronauts used scissors to slice the floating pies, but only after letting them spin around in microgravity for fun.
A close look at a European Space Agency video of the pizza assembly process shows a tin of anchovies among the supplies. Whether or not you're a fan of anchovies on pizza, you might question the wisdom of filling the close quarters of the space station with the scent of the filleted fish. Fortunately, the ISS has equipment that helps to reduce odors so the anchovies won't linger forever.
