By producing food for astronauts, we prove that we comply with the highest possible safety standards

Delivering the taste of home to space.

 

LSG Group’s Space Food project helped to change the way astronauts eat in space.

Much about space travel has changed since Yuri Gagarin and Alan Shepard first went up to the stars, and so it comes as no surprise that space meals have also evolved. Gone are the days when astronauts ate pureed food out of a tube. In its place, the crew on the International Space Station (ISS) can now enjoy some of their favorite dishes on earth – specially prepared and packaged by the LSG Group.

In 2021, the LSG Group prepared the “Crew Choice Meals” for German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer and his trip to the International Space Station (ISS). As requested by the proud Saarlander, the recipes evoked a sense of home. The first menu consisted of a main course and a dessert: “Geheirade”, a flour dumpling and potato dish topped with ham, and “Rostigen Rittern”, or French toast, served with vanilla sauce. On top of that, Maurer enjoyed an appetizer and a main course: an alcohol-free potato and Riesling cream soup and venison ragout with “Hoorischen”, a type of potato dumplings from the Saarland region.

Jörg Hofmann; ESA Space Food

The LSG Group prepared the four dishes, that were selected in a local TV show, in a way that ensured the meals could fly to space and remain shelf-stable for at least two years. First, the recipes were optimized to meet the specific requirements of astronaut food. Next, the dishes were cooked by the LSG Group’s chefs before they were finally canned and preserved by autoclaving. The steam sterilization process retains most of the vitamins and nutrients.