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Ask Chef Walter: Eating Around the Moon in Artemis II. Shrimp Coconut Curry – Walter Potenza
May 10, 2026/
by Master Chef Walter Potenza, contributing writer
Friends:
The Artemis II did not have a chef on board; however, I understand that two of them were good amateur cooks, based on their personal love for food, captured during interviews released, When NASA’s Artemis II crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen—launched on April 1, 2026, they brought more than just equipment and dreams. The Artemis II crew became the first humans to travel to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, setting a new record for deep space travel on their 10-day mission.
The menu included 189 items, from macaroni and cheese to barbecued beef, brisket and broccoli au gratin, as well as 58 tortillas. That number of tortillas is intentional. Tortillas have been a spaceflight staple for years because they are versatile, easy to eat in microgravity, and make fewer crumbs than bread. The reason goes back to 1965, when astronaut John Young famously brought a corned beef sandwich aboard Gemini III. The sandwich shed crumbs that floated around the cabin in microgravity, which could have interfered with sensitive equipment or been inhaled by the crew. Since then, bread has been avoided on spaceflights, and tortillas have become the preferred alternative. According to a report on Phys.org, the Artemis II menu features 189 different food and drink options, including tortillas, but bread is not among them.
A Shelf-Stable Kitchen in a Gumdrop
The Orion vehicle, which one journalist described as “gumdrop-shaped,” provided the crew with only 187 square feet of living space. Creating a usable kitchen in such a small area took real creativity. Since there was no resupply, refrigeration, or way to add food later, every meal had to be chosen to stay safe, shelf-stable, and easy to prepare and eat.
Food on Orion fits into four types: ready-to-eat, rehydratable, thermostabilized, or irradiated. Meal preparation in space follows a routine designed for microgravity. For ready-to-eat items, astronauts open the package and eat with a fork or spoon, using magnetic strips to keep utensils from floating away. For rehydratable and thermostabilized foods, each meal comes in a sealed pouch. To prepare rehydratable meals, the crew attaches the pouch to Orion’s water dispenser, selects hot or cold water, and then injects the required amount.
The pouch is gently kneaded to incorporate water into the freeze-dried food evenly. If heating is required, they slide the food pouch into a sleek, silver briefcase-style food warmer that latches shut. After waiting a few minutes for the food to warm up, they cut open the pouch and eat directly from it, often securing it to a tray or a Velcro strip on the table to prevent it from floating. This warmer is a small but important upgrade compared to earlier missions. During Apollo, astronauts didn’t have this option; they just added hot water to powder and squeezed the food from a bag.
Making sure food lasts the whole mission without spoiling is a science in itself. When NASA chefs tried to prepare beef teriyaki, using high heat made the meat tough. According to a scientific study, gamma radiation does not prevent the pineapple enzyme from affecting other foods in a dish, so over time, the enzyme can continue to break down the meat texture, leading to an unappetizing result. Because of this, beef teriyaki was left off the menu, but barbecue beef brisket, which was treated differently, made the cut.
Three Meals a Day, Five Hot Sauces
On most days, astronauts had set times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, though on launch and reentry days, they adjusted their meals to fit the spacecraft’s schedule. Breakfast choices include sausage, granola with blueberries, and chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry breakfast drinks. For lunch and dinner, options included couscous with nuts, mango salad, barbecue beef brisket, broccoli au gratin, spicy green beans, macaroni and cheese, tropical fruit salad, butternut squash, and cauliflower.
Mission specialist Christina Koch, speaking with a group of Canadian schoolchildren on day four of the mission, put it plainly: “We do have to eat our vegetables even in space, but don’t worry, they do give us mac and cheese.” National Geographic
There were plenty of condiments, including five kinds of hot sauce, because astronauts often get congested in space and have trouble tasting their food. Fluid shifts in microgravity can cause stuffiness, like a head cold, which can dull the sense of taste. The solution is to bring enough hot sauce, although the crew hasn’t said which brands, to cut through the congestion. During a live broadcast, viewers caught a glimpse of a jar of Nutella gently drifting across the cabin as the astronauts floated nearby. One crew member reached out, snagged it mid-air with a grin, and another joked about “not letting it get away.” The relaxed, playful moment highlighted daily life aboard Orion and was quickly clipped and shared on social media, where it became an instant hit among space fans.
For drinks, the crew had over 10 options, including coffee, green tea, lemonade, apple cider, cocoa, a pineapple drink, and a mango-peach smoothie. Each astronaut could have two flavored drinks per day. Altogether, the crew had enough for 43 cups of coffee during the mission. Desserts included pudding, cookies, chocolate, cake, candy-coated almonds, and cobbler. There were also condiments like maple syrup, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon, and almond butter to add extra flavor.
A Canadian Taste of Home
One of the more charming parts of the Artemis II food list is what Jeremy Hansen, the only Canadian on the crew, brought for comfort. According to Scientific American, the Artemis II menu features 189 unique items, similar to what is served on the International Space Station. For the Canadian astronaut’s preferences, this included wild keta salmon bites, shrimp curry, strawberry lavender super seed cereal, maple cream cookies, and maple syrup. NASA highlights that personal preference is key in menu planning because familiar foods help increase morale and make meals more enjoyable. As it turns out, floating through space a quarter-million miles from Earth is a little easier with a maple cream cookie.
The Crew Had a Say
The menu wasn’t just assigned to the crew. Before the flight, the astronauts tasted all 200 options over four one-hour sessions, rating and evaluating each one. In these tasting sessions, each astronaut could mark preferences, request their personal favorites, and even suggest if something special would boost morale during the mission. NASA’s food specialists did their best to include these favorites, provided they met nutritional needs and fit within Orion’s strict weight and space limits.
For example, crew members could request comfort foods associated with their cultural backgrounds or choose snacks that reminded them of home. Their choices were then carefully balanced against the mission requirements and Orion’s weight, space, and power capacity. The final menus for each crew member were set well before launch, with two to three days of food for each person packed into a single container. This process gave the astronauts the chance to shape their daily meals and ensured they would have some flexibility and familiar tastes to look forward to during their time in space.
A Long Way from Tang
The difference from earlier space programs is striking. According to the Science Museum Group, Apollo astronauts drank dehydrated orange juice packaged in plastic bags with mouth tubes. They ate dehydrated, cut-up food stored in containers, making their meals look very different from regular food. While Apollo crews had a limited menu, astronauts today have access to a much wider variety of food choices.
NASA says the Artemis II menu shows how much space food has improved over the decades. Apollo used early food technology with limited choices. For example, an Apollo crew member might have eaten beef and vegetables that had been dehydrated, pressed into a cube, then rehydrated from a plastic pouch with water added—imagine a meal that looked more like baby food than dinner. In contrast, an Artemis II astronaut could dig into warm barbecue beef brisket with broccoli au gratin, using a fork and enjoying the meal in a pouch designed for real bites and recognizable textures.
The space shuttle added more options for preparing food onboard. The International Space Station receives regular resupply missions and sometimes receives fresh food. Artemis II, on the other hand, uses a fixed, pre-selected menu for a self-contained spacecraft with no resupply. It’s more limited than the ISS, with no fresh fruit or late deliveries, but much more advanced than what Apollo crews had access to.
The mission came back to Earth on April 10, 2026. The crew set a new record for the farthest humans who have ever traveled from our planet. They did it while eating beef, brisket, maple cream cookies, and 58 tortillas. Not bad for a gumdrop-shaped spacecraft.
SHRIMP
- 1 pound extra-large shrimp (26-30 ct.), peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon curry powder (yellow)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (for cooking)
CURRY
- 1 13.5 oz. can quality coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cups 1/2-inch cubed, peeled, Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp EACH curry powder (yellow), ground cumin, ground coriander, ground turmeric, paprika, chili powder, salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, more or less to taste
- 1/8 tsp EACH ground cinnamon, nutmeg
- 1 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
ADD LATER
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
Instructions
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Marinate shrimp: Whisk 1 tablespoon lime juice and Shrimp seasonings together in a large bowl. Add the shrimp and turn to evenly coat. Set aside while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
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Cook Shrimp: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat in large saucepan/braiser (this is the exact one I use). Add the shrimp in a single layer and cook just until opaque, flipping halfway through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. You can remove the tails once cooled, if desired.
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Curry sauce: Whisk the coconut milk and cornstarch together in a liquid measuring cup (or bowl); set aside.
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Add another drizzle of oil to the pan if needed. Add the onions and potatoes and cook over medium-high heat, until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes. (I recommend measuring out the spices in between stirring the onions/potatoes).
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Cover with the lid slightly askew, with about a 1-inch opening, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender, stirring and replacing the lid occasionally so the bottom doesn’t burn. Add additional broth as needed to achieve your desired sauce consistency.
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Stir in the lime juice and cilantro, followed by the shrimp. Season with additional cayenne pepper (taste first!) and garnish with additional cilantro and lime if desired. Serve with rice, zoodles, etc.
Notes
- Spice level: The curried shrimp is mild without any cayenne pepper. Adding ⅛ teaspoon to the shrimp marinade and ⅛ teaspoon to the curry sauce is mild-medium and adding ¼ teaspoon to both is medium. If you’re not a fan of heat, I suggest adding ⅛ teaspoon to the shrimp and waiting to add the cayenne pepper to taste after the curry sauce is done simmering. You can also add heat to individual servings.
- Prep ahead: Chop the cauliflower and bell peppers and store in the refrigerator, chop the potatoes and submerge in water in the refrigerator, chop and refrigerate aromatics, and measure the spices.
- Meal prep: Divide the curry shrimp between airtight containers along with rice, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days or freeze for up to 3 months.
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There is a constant, recognizable thread in the career of Walter Potenza to elevate the level of Italian culinary culture in the United States. Besides his unquestionable culinary talent and winning business perspective, Chef Walter has been a relentless educator with passion and knowledge who defeats stereotypes. His life, career, and values are a model, an example to follow by any chef of Italian gastronomy working outside Italy.
Chef Walter appears regularly on National and International Networks such as Food Network, ABC, CBS, NBC, RAI, FOX, and Publications such as NY. Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, Saveur, Gourmet, and several Italian media outlets. And now – RINewsToday!
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