Remember Astronaut Ice Cream? Astronaut Ice Cream’s first voyage didn’t go so well. Then the dessert took off on Earth. SHARE
Astronaut Ice Cream, that sweet pastel-striped chunk still plentiful at museum gift shops and camping stores around the country,
was served in space exactly once, aboard Apollo 7 during its 1968 mission to orbit Earth. Unfortunately, in the weightless environment, the brittle crumbs shed by the freeze-dried treat turned out to be hazardous to both the astronauts’ eyes and the ship’s sensitive machinery. But within the next few years, American enthusiasm for all things space moon boots! Tang! led the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum to partner with American Outdoor Products (a manufacturer of backpackers’ meals) for a revival of the dessert to hawk to visitors.