Samantha Cristoforetti, an astronaut currently on board the International Space Station was allowed to take some extra food with her (astronauts are allowed to take “comfort food” with them for psychological reasons – a little something that reminds them of home). Today, she’ll be telling us how to make some space tortillas.
Cooking in microgravity is no easy feat – everything just floats around, and you have to be careful not to let anything go away, otherwise you could get into a lot of trouble. In the clip, she demonstrates her handy technique; she puts one ingredient after another on the tortilla, while allowing it to freely float next to her.
In case you’re worried that some leftovers might escape her and somehow cause damage, the European Space Agency (ESA) explains:
‘[It] will get pulled towards a ventilation grid and be cleaned up on the Saturday morning cleaning round,’ wrote the ESA. ‘Alternatively, it could make for a tasty snack for someone as it floats past.’
The video ends with Samantha adding the final ingredient and taking the time to thumbs up the camera.
Samantha is not only the first tortilla-maker in space, she’s also the first space barista: thanks to a 3D printed espresso machine, astronauts onboard the ISS are now able to make coffee and drink it from mugs with a sharp inner corner that allows the liquid to be pushed along the inside of the cup and towards the astronaut’s lips.
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