Earlier this month, two Swedish brothers sent a doughnut into space. (Well, almost. They were about 42 miles shy of space’s official edge at 100 km, or roughly 62 miles high.) Still, they got coolness points for showing the curvature of the Earth, and joined a burgeoning trend of folks hoisting food into the upper reaches of the atmosphere.
Also unveiled this month: The world’s first space ale, Ground Control, made from yeast that journeyed 77 miles above the Earth. Last October, the Ninkasi Brewing Company launched some brewer’s yeast into space from New Mexico’s Spaceport America that has since been used to create an “Imperial Stout that boldly combines local and out of this world ingredients.” It’s now being distributed in parts of the U.S.—a particularly intoxicating victory after the company’s first ill-fated attempt:
And the year before that, the music group Anamanaguchi launched a pizza slice for a music video for its song, Endless Fantasy.
As testament to human ingenuity and folly, increasing numbers of space enthusiasts, engineering students, and companies have been sending food aloft for both novelty and promotional purposes. Sure, there have been objects—Hello Kitty, Lego, and iPads—and who could forget Toshiba’s space chair?
But nothing quite satisfies like an In-and-Out-of-this-World Burger. Take Chosen Bun, which sent the first burger and fries 21 miles high to publicize its London burger delivery service.
Not to mention the flight of Natural Light beer in 2011…
… and the 2012 test of how the Coors Light “Super Cold” label held up at -75ºF and 18 miles high.
Until someone gets a Happy Meal into orbit, satellite manfacturers and the ISS crew can probably breath easy about a Gravity-esque death by all-beef patty. But all you badass hobbyists must defer to the true space food pioneer—astronaut John Young, who smuggled a contraband corned beef sandwich aboard the first crewed Gemini flight in 1965. Respect.