Astronauts aboard International Space Station make ‘space sushi’ using spam and rice

Life aboard the International Space Station is far from easy, and there are many earthly comforts astronauts miss. Sushi is an example. But during a recent crew celebration, a group of astronauts at the space station got creative and made their own version of the beloved dish.

Using only what was available onboard—rice, spam, fish, and a touch of gochujang (Korean chilli paste) and wasabi—they managed to whip up “space sushi”. It may not have been gourmet, but it lifted spirits and reminded the crew of the small joys that keep them going in space.

Nasa astronaut Johnny Kim shared the experience on X with a post that quickly gained attention. He wrote, “Space sushi isn’t quite the same as the fresh stuff on the ground, but it’s not bad! We had a crew celebration recently and one of our crewmates expressed how much they missed sushi (as do I). So we collected and pitched in our personal supplies of fish, spam and rice, coupled with a dash of gochujang and wasabi, which made for a great meal. One thing you’ll notice that is different about our dinner table is that we orient tape such that the sticky side is facing up. This allows us to stick food, utensils and condiments to our table. Otherwise, everything would float away.”