Specialist reveals what 'stranded' NASA astronauts were likely eating to survive in space after 8-day trip lasted 9 months

The world continues its obsession with NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

While the former reiterates they weren't 'stranded' aboard the International Space Station, the fact their eight-day mission turned into a nine-month stay became global news.

President Donald Trump called for Elon Musk to 'go get' them, with the pair putting pressure on NASA to push the Crew-10 relief mission forward.

Even that faced delays, as a planned March 12 launch was called off due to a hydraulics issue. A second launch was scuppered by adverse weather conditions, but finally, the Crew Dragon spacecraft blasted off on March 14, 2025.

Having docked with the ISS on March 16, there was a brief handover before Williams, Wilmore, and Crew-9's Nick Hague Aleksandr and Gorbunov made the 17-hour journey back to Earth.

As the media descends on the personal lives of Williams and Wilmore, the same two questions keep being asked: How do you go to the toilet on the ISS and what do you eat?

Back when Yuri Gagarin was the first human to make it into space in 1961, many were disgusted to learn he consumed two tubes of beef and liver purée, followed by a tube of chocolate sauce for dessert.

It's safe to say that astronaut diets have come a long way since then, and although there were concerns about the seemingly dramatic weight loss of Williams, NASA reiterated astronauts are on tightly controlled diets and constantly monitored.

You might be surprised to learn that you can still get some of your favorite food up there, and while it might not quite be a Double Decadence from Domino's, the New York Post explained how Williams and Wilmore were able to eat pizza some 250 miles above us.

You can enjoy a cup of coffee up there, while the astronauts even tucked into a Thanksgiving banquet together.

One specialist familiar with the Starliner mission confirmed that while their intake of fresh produce is limited, their diets include the likes of breakfast cereal with powdered milk, roast chicken, and even shrimp cocktails.

Meals are developed at Space Food Systems Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, with the ISS stocking around 3.8 pounds of food for each astronaut, per day. Thankfully, there's an additional stockpile for extended missions like Williams and Wilmore's.

Meals are catered to each individual, ensuring they have enough calories, then reheated in the ISS' food warmer.

Still, fresh food is in short supply due to limited deliveries. It's not a case of going on Amazon and ordering up a bushel of apples. As the specialist explained: "There’s fresh fruit at first, but as the three months continues that goes away — and their fruits and vegetables are packaged or freeze-dried."

Meat and eggs are pre-cooked on Earth, while dehydrated soups and stews are made with the station’s 530-gallon fresh water tank. Then again, making soup with your own recycled urine isn't for everyone.

NASA continues to innovate with what we can consume in space, and while alcohol still isn't allowed on the ISS and 2019 experiment saw a special Zero G Kitchen oven sent up there and let astronauts bake cookies in space.

Currently, neither Williams nor Wilmore have confirmed what space pizza tastes like.