Astronauts bake chocolate cookies in space

Image: Christina Koch on Twitter

Astronauts have baked chocolate cookies in a special oven designed to work in zero-gravity at the International Space Station (ISS). Separate batches of five such chocolate chips were prepared by two astronauts as a part of an experiment.

The experiment was aimed at the various cooking options on offer for astronauts who go on long space voyages. Luca Parmitano and Christina Koch baked five chocolate chip cookies but could not eat any of them before a test was conducted. The astronauts sent three of the five cookies back to Earth earlier this month, reportedthe BBC.

Double Tree, the company that made the special dough for the test, told the publication the cookie samples would undergo ‘additional testing by food science professionals to determine the final results of the experiments.’ On the basis of the test, it would be decided if the cookies are safe to eat during space expeditions.

On Earth, the cookies take roughly 20 minutes to bake at a temperature of 150 degrees. However, in space, the astronauts noticed that it took far longer. The first batch of cookies turned out to be undercooked after 25 minutes of bake time, whereas the next one took 75 minutes to bake and released a fresh scent in the ISS.

The fourth cookie was baked for two hours and left for cooling down for 25 minutes. The last cookie was kept in the oven for 130 minutes and cooled down for 10 minutes. The last two cookies turned out to be most successful, according to the astronauts.

These cookies were baked in a special oven that was designed and installed by NanoRacks and Zero-G Kitchen. The oven is slightly larger than conventional microwaves and can heat food up to 177 degrees.