Post by Maria Godoy, The Salt at NPR Food (5/14/13)
Amid the media phenomenon that is Commander Chris Hadfield, you may have overlooked his turn as the International Space Station's top chef.
The Canadian astronaut, who landed back on Earth Monday along with two other ISS crew members, wasn't just hamming it up during his five months in space. (Although ham it up he did: In the last couple of days, his rendition of David Bowie's "Space Oddity," shot in orbit, has gotten nearly 7 million YouTube views.) While still aboard the space station, Hadfield also took the time to enlighten viewers on the intricacies of meal prep in space.
"In the early days of space exploration," he informs us in one video, "food was mostly squeezed out of tubes and brought up in dehydrated packets. But today, we can have quite a variety of food. ... We just need some minor adaptations."