Apollo 11 Astronauts Ate Stouffer's Meals During 'Moon Quarantine'

If you've ever visited a gift shop at a science museum, you may be familiar with those foil packets of freeze-dried ice cream purported to be the type of food that astronauts nosh on while on the moon. Despite the popularity and pervasiveness of the foam-textured flavored treat for sale in these stores on Earth, it turns out that the scientists who travel to space actually haven't ever snacked on the crumbly — and therefore dangerous — version of the frozen dessert (via Smithsonian). But while they may not have eaten those powdery cubes, it turns out there is some interesting history associated with the food they did eat.

In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel to outer space (via The European Space Agency). Out of obvious necessity, Gagarin also became the first person to eat in space, and he marked that occasion with a starter of meat puree from a toothpaste-type tube followed by chocolate sauce, also in a tube (per Space Foundation Discovery Center). 

By the time American astronauts made the first landing on the moon in 1969, food for space travel had improved a bit, but meals were not necessarily ideal. As BGR reports, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's meal before taking their first steps on the moon included squares of bacon and cubes of cookies washed down with coffee and a fruity beverage. When they returned to the module, their celebratory snack included another fruit drink and cocktail sausages. While certainly an upgrade over liquefied meat from a tube, meals like those likely left the two longing for more after the eight days they spent traveling to and from space.

While their meals on that historic voyage may have left something to be desired in that relatively short time, the trip was punctuated by a serious upgrade by none other than Stouffer's, which served the astronauts for three full weeks upon their return.

Not knowing what contagions the astronauts could potentially introduce to Earth after their time on the moon, NASA required Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to remain in quarantine for 21 days (via CNN). While Armstrong did enjoy a birthday cake during the quarantine, prepared by the Lunar Receiving Laboratory staff, the majority of the food consumed by the three scientists was prepared by Stouffer's (via The Drum).

The brand, now well-known for its frozen meals, including macaroni and cheese, ravioli, and Salisbury steak, owned restaurants and hotels around the country at the time (via Stouffer's). The company was proud of its contribution to helping feed the nation's newest heroes and adopted a new tagline — "Everyone who has been to the moon is eating Stouffer's," per The Drum — shortly after.

Stouffer's provided convenient, hearty meals for astronauts for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (via Culinary Institute of America). From eggs and bacon in the morning to soups and escalloped chicken for lunch and short ribs and sides for dinner, the brand did its best to nourish the three with its convenient food products.

As it turns out, Stouffer's isn't the only American food brand that NASA has turned to in order to nourish their space travelers. As Smithsonian Magazine notes, chocolate is a favorite among many astronauts, and plenty of space flights have included treats like Kit Kats, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and Milky Way Bars. The outlet also notes that M&M's are regularly provided to the International Space Station.

The organization also turns to the Texas-based, highly-rated Blue Bell to provide ice cream in space (per Smithsonian). The individual ice cream cups are a hit (and an unmistakable upgrade over the freeze-dried variety). And who else would be a better choice to provide cookie dough for the first cookies ever baked in space than DoubleTree by Hilton, known for its warm chocolate chip cookies? In 2019, the well-known brand was the purveyor of the dough that made cookie-baking history in space aboard the International Space Station (via Royal Museums Greenwich).

Sweets aren't the only treats from American food brands to find their way into space. For a long time, bread posed a problem because its crumbs could cause technical issues if they floated into equipment, and tortillas didn't last long in the space environment. However, Taco Bell's long shelf-life tortillas were just the fit, and NASA now incorporates them regularly into the astronaut's meals (via CNET).

While Stouffer's may have pioneered the provision of wholesome food to astronauts, there are clearly a number of other brands that NASA has come to rely on as well. And while we're not judging if you choose to pick up that foil packet in the gift shop, we're pretty sure you'd be better off heating up some Stouffer's lasagna or snacking on some M&Ms. You can even brag that you're eating like an astronaut the next time you hit up the Taco Bell drive-thru — now that's "living mas."