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Living in space is not for the faint of heart. There’s the small risk of getting stuck for a few extra months, the physical toll of extended space travel, and dealing with zero gravity. Eating in space can be particularly challenging, but also entertaining.
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick recently demonstrated this with one of the world’s most popular condiments–ketchup. In the video posted to X, Dominick shows how the ketchup leaks out like water coming from a garden hose in zero gravity.
Not only does the ketchup slide out of the nozzle with ease, but it pools up and makes a “ketchup castle” on his chin. Dominick says it is either gross or awesome, depending on the eye of the beholder.
Tomatoes or tomato-based products like ketchup are no stranger to the International Space Station. In late 2023, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio lost track of two rogue tomatoes that were part of the eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS) experiment he conducted aboard the space station in 2022. This experiment used hydroponic and aeroponic techniques to grow plants–no soil required. Learning how to plant without soil could be useful in other exploratory missions. Tending to gardens in space also helps the morale of some of the astronauts and can help scientists back on Earth develop better farming techniques.
In 2021, Ketchup giant Heinz also partnered with astrobiologists to study how to improve ketchup quality in harsh environmental conditions like what is found on the Red Planet. They created a ketchup on Earth, but with similar soil, temperature, and water conditions on Earth to those found on Mars.
