HOUSTON, USA, April 8, 2026 - NASA sent five hot sauces on Artemis II. The lineup was Tabasco, Cholula, Frank's RedHot, Heinz Hot Taco Sauce and Sriracha. The astronauts chose them together with NASA's food scientists, and NASA says it does not endorse any of the brands.

None of them is extreme. Cholula is the hottest of the five, at around 3,600 Scoville heat units, and Frank's RedHot the mildest, at 450.

Why pack them at all? Microgravity dulls astronauts' sense of flavour. In orbit, body fluids shift toward the head and cause nasal swelling and congestion, which makes food taste blander and can cut flavour perception by 70 percent. Strong hot sauces help make up for it.

The craving is nothing new on the space station. Many astronauts want spicier, more tart food in orbit, and in 2002 astronaut Peggy Whitson joked about barring a visiting shuttle crew from the station over a spicy resupply. Freeze-dried shrimp cocktail is a station favourite. Other foods change too: astronaut Douglas Wheelock said green beans tasted like grass in space and sliced strawberries tasted repulsively sweet. NASA spends about two years developing each approved space dish.

Space Nugget. Most of what we call taste is really smell. The tongue picks up only a few basics, such as sweet, salty, sour, bitter and savoury; the rich detail of a flavour comes from aromas reaching the nose. The burn of chilli works differently: capsaicin triggers heat and pain sensors in the mouth, which is why spicy food still registers when a blocked nose mutes almost everything else.