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This summer, Lufthansa is offering its Business Class passengers the opportunity to experience eating like an astronaut. The meals are available to passengers on long-haul flights departing from Germany. The offer is in honour of German astronaut Alexander Gerst, who is currently leading the ‘Horizons’ mission on board the International Space Station. Lufthansa’s catering and hospitality team, LSG Group, custom-developed some of the food for the mission.

In addition to the usual space food, each mission also has special ‘bonus food’. This is eaten by the crew only on special occasions. LSG worked with the European Space Agency to develop the ‘bonus’ meals. They developed six meals which were specifically requested by Gerst. They include dishes from the astronaut’s home region of Swabia. The meals include Maultaschen (a type of dumpling) and Spätzle (a pasta dish). This is also alongside international favourites such as Chicken Ragout with Mushrooms. All of the meals needed to meet the health requirements of the mission, which include being low in sodium and able to maintain a shelf life of two years. Although the food the astronauts will eat is canned for preservation, those dining on board Luftansa will be served fresh versions.

One thing is clear, the original space food is now a thing of the past. Springwise recently covered an innovation that even allows astronauts to bake bread in space. According to CNN, astronauts can now also eat dishes like fish curry and apricot cobbler, along with the freeze-dried rations. We have previously covered innovations in air travel geared to improving the customer experience. These include luxury cabins and training airplane staff to whisper. Will the experience of eating space food boost customer sales for airlines?