Mission Im-pasta-ble: SpaceX Is Blasting Fusilli Into Orbit – The Messenger

This week a new crew of private astronauts are set to travel to the International Space Station and they're bringing dinner. Among the more than 30 science experiments and other cargo on board their SpaceX rocket is a load of Barilla pasta.

The starchy cargo three kilos of pre-cooked fusilli portioned into single serve bags and seasoned with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt, to be exact will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket along with the Ax-3 mission crew no earlier than Thursday at 4:49 p.m. Eastern.

The astronauts on board the mission include Walter Villadei, a former Italian Air Force colonel, who will likely enjoy a taste of home while completing an experiment with the fusilli called "Ready Pasta Heat and Taste in Microgravity."

The experiment is intended to help scientists learn how to satisfy the unique nutritional requirements of astronauts inspace, where microgravity is known to alter the sensation of eating and even the flavor of food. It's also going to help them figure out the best ways to prepare food meant for space, where it's impossible to cook in the regular, Earth-based way, since you can't boil a pot of water and throw in pasta in zero-g.

Barilla, for its part, is confident that its pasta will make a fine addition to astronauts' tables.

"The process has been carefully fine-tuned to ensure that the pasta keeps its consistency and offers that wonderful resistance to the bite, which is the pinnacle of the experience of a good pasta dish all over the world," said Cristina Gallina, who is the director of the Barilla Global Discovery Centre, in a statement.

The Ax-3 mission astronauts will also be given a food diary where they can write their notes on the dish and other taste sensations while on board the ISS. The mission is designed to last two weeks.

Perhaps the NASA astronauts on board the ISS can add one or two of their station-grown tomatoes to spice things up in a show of international collaboration.

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Mission Im-pasta-ble: SpaceX Is Blasting Fusilli Into Orbit - The Messenger