For the first time in the history of the Russian space program, a gastronomic project will become part of a space mission. The Institute of Gastronomy of the Siberian Federal University (SFU) in Krasnoyarsk, together with the brand chef of the Bellini restaurant group, Roman Chemerenko, will form a package with original food for the ISS crew. The package will be sent to the station with the manned spacecraft "Soyuz MS-29", which is scheduled to launch in the summer of 2026. This was reported to TASS on March 18 by representatives of the "First in Space" project. The organizers are Roscosmos, the Institute of Gastronomy of SFU and the agency "Simply Space".
Online dinner "Earth — ISS" and festival in 18 cities
As part of the project, an online dinner "Earth — ISS" will be held. An original gastronomic dinner will take place on Earth, to which the ISS crew will connect via communication. The astronauts will participate in the creation of new flavor combinations and share their impressions of the perception of food in zero gravity.
From April 1 to 30, 2026, the gastronomic festival "First in Space" will be held in Russia — in 18 cities of the country, including Krasnoyarsk, more than 70 restaurants will present original sets inspired by space and the history of Russian cosmonautics. Guests of the festival will be able to participate in the drawing of the main prize — a trip to Baikonur to observe the manned launch of "Soyuz MS-29".
The standard diet of astronauts is developed by the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences with strict requirements for weight, packaging and safety. The participation of a restaurant chef in the formation of onboard food is a new format for the Russian space program. In zero gravity, the perception of taste in astronauts changes due to the redistribution of fluids in the body — that is why the creation of original food for orbit requires a special approach.
