The journey of Sophie Adenot's bonus food
Quick Summary
What does it take to send gourmet food to the International Space Station? Follow ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot's bonus menu from a French kitchen to orbit, where chefs, engineers and food specialists work together to transform traditional recipes into meals that are safe for spaceflight, while preserving the flavours, memories and moments of sharing that make them special.
Space Explainer: The ISS & Life in Orbit
The International Space Station has been continuously staffed since November 2000, making it the longest-running human outpost off Earth. It orbits roughly 400km up, circling the planet every 90 minutes at about 28,000 km/h — meaning the crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes.
Crew members typically rotate every 5-6 months, arriving and departing on Soyuz or Crew Dragon spacecraft. Their days are tightly scheduled around scientific experiments in microgravity, station maintenance, and roughly 2.5 hours of mandatory daily exercise to counteract the bone and muscle loss that comes from living without gravity.
Track the ISS Crew LiveSource: ESA
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