The $18,000 Water Bottle: How Much It Really Costs To Feed Astronauts in Space

NASA sent its first astronaut into space in May 1961. Since then, there have been hundreds of trips, but they come at a significant cost.

One of those costs is feeding the astronauts traveling on the spaceships and living at the International Space Station (ISS). Sending supplies into orbit is astronomically expensive compared to driving to a supermarket on Earth, so it’s no surprise that the figure associated with providing food is exorbitantly high.

We probed a little deeper into NASA’s methods. Here’s what we found.

What Do Astronauts Eat in Space?

They essentially eat the same kinds of foods in space as they do on Earth, but the difference is the foods are freeze-dried. There are two reasons for this: to stabilize them so they last and to keep them from taking up extra space.

The food is packaged in plastic with a one-way valve, so they can connect it to a dispenser and inject water into it. It’s very similar to how the military prepares its ready-to-eat meals (MREs).

Where Does the Food Come From?

Since the food has to meet certain criteria, NASA has a special kitchen, the Space Food Systems Laboratory, where it produces, taste tests, and packages foods to send to its crew at the ISS.

The packages are freeze-dried to increase their stability and shelf life, since they often have to last for months. Typically, assignments are six months to a year, but some astronauts stay even longer.

Are Astronauts Allowed To Bring Their Own Food?

Because their mental health is just as important as their physical health, NASA allows its crew members to supplement with a few of their personal favorite commercial foods to make them feel more at home.

These can include cookies and pastries, but they must be handled and repackaged in its own kitchen for safety purposes.

How Much Does It Cost To Feed Astronauts?

Information on the actual food costs isn’t available, but it’s likely to be reasonably priced. The real kicker in cost is the transportation — sending another shuttle up to deliver for those on extended stays.

Each astronaut gets three meals daily, which they can choose from customized menus prepared months in advance. They also get snacks.

Do Astronauts Get Fresh Food?

The majority of the food provided is either freeze-dried or stabilized to preserve its shelf life. That’s not to say the crew members don’t ever get the rare treat!

Sometimes, shipments will include a small amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, such as oranges, bananas, celery, and carrots, that can survive the trip to the ISS and a little longer.

Is Space Gardening in the Future?

Vegetable Production System, affectionately shortened to Veggie, is one of NASA’s experiments on the ISS to determine if crew members can garden on the station. The idea is to use this method on longer trips, such as those to Mars, where regular food options would degrade.

At Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA also grows the same crops as on the ISS. They plant them in the ground and it serves as a control group and method of comparison.

Is a Bottle of Water Really $18,000?

This estimate comes from a Columbia Daily Tribune answer to a question posed by a school class back in 2018: how much does it cost to feed astronauts? The author noted that on the lower side, it could cost between $9,000 and $18,000 per pound for a spaceship to deliver supplies to the ISS.

Given that figure, and the fact that a standard bottle of water weighs around a pound, it’s very feasible that it could cost $18,000. However, no bottles of water are sent to the ISS. Instead, it has an onboard water recovery system.