Home
space.com
ISS astronaut shares recipe for a ‘ranger’ burger | Space photo of the day for May 1, 2025

ISS astronaut shares recipe for a ‘ranger’ burger | Space photo of the day for May 1, 2025

a cracker topped with a slice of meat, cheese and a drizzle of red paste, all floating in zero gravity in a space station module lined with wires and computer screens — Stacking wheat snack bread, beef steak, cheese spread, potatoes au gratin and gochujang red pepper paste, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim creates his take on a “ranger” burger on the space station. (Image credit: Jonny Kim/NASA via X)

A space food stack comprised of wheat snack bread, beef steak, cheese spread, potatoes au gratin and gochujang red pepper paste floats aboard the International Space Station before NASA astronaut Jonny Kim enjoys it as a snack.

What is it?

Jonny Kim is no stranger to devising new recipes from pre-packaged meals. A former U.S. Navy SEAL-turned-NASA astronaut, he demonstrated his retention for this skill using the food items found aboard the International Space Station and a special delivery from a recent cargo delivery.

“If you’ve lived on MREs, you’ve probably tried some creative field recipes,” wrote Kim on social media, referring to the military-issued Meals Ready to Eat. “Here is a twist on the ranger burger, one of my favorites: beef steak, wheat snack bread, cheese spread as both topping and glue, potatoes au gratin layered in the middle, and a generous slather of gochujang red pepper paste from a care package on the SpX-32 Cargo Dragon.”

Where is it?

Kim is aboard the International Space Station, orbiting Earth at about 260 miles high (418 kilometers).

He took this photo of his floating food inside the Unity module, which links the U.S. operating segment of the station to the Russian segment. It has a table where the astronauts and cosmonauts living on the outpost like to come together for group meals.

a tube of red pepper paste is held aboard a space station — NASA astronaut Jonny Kim displays a tube of gochujang red pepper paste, a special delivery that came with a recent cargo delivery to the International Space Station. (Image credit: NASA/Jonny Kim)

Why is it amazing?

When people think of space food, especially early space food, they may think of food in a tube, which then may lead them to think, “yuck.” Here, though, Kim demonstrates some good things come in tubes, such as his gochujang red pepper paste.

In microgravity, foods tend to taste bland because of fluid shifts in our body and smells no longer wafting up into our nose. To correct for this, astronauts tend to prefer spicy foods or adding spicy sauces, like sriracha, tabasco or red pepper paste.