Houston... We Have Lunch

In the 40 years since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, space cuisine — like everything else — has seen radical change.

The Apollo men snacked on thermo-stabilized cheddar cheese and gelatin-coated bacon cubes. This was a culinary giant leap from John Glenn's meals. He famously noshed on apple sauce from a metal tube. But space menus today offer everything from pizza to shrimp cocktail, served with horseradish-infused sauce. Steak and chocolate cake also float around.

Meals are designed to give astronauts the high levels of calcium they need to prevent bone loss, a common space ailment. Recognizable foods also help keep astraunats from getting homesick. Nothing says mother's cooking like freeze-dried meatloaf and a glass of Tang.

(Photo by Stefano Petraz via Flickr/Creative Commons)