Life aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is usually dominated by scientific experiments, maintenance work and spacewalks. But every once in a while, astronauts make time for something a little sweeter, creating a birthday cake in orbit.
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir recently shared a delightful video on social media showing how the Expedition 74 crew transformed the orbiting laboratory into a makeshift cake kitchen using ingredients already available aboard the station.
The footage, recorded by Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, offers a rare glimpse into how astronauts celebrate special occasions while living nearly 400 kilometres above Earth.
“Behold the making of a space cake, Roscosmos cosmonaut style!” Meir wrote while sharing the video.
According to Meir, Fedyaev assembled the cake using sweetened condensed milk, layers of thinly sliced honey bread and yogurt supplied by Roscosmos, along with rehydrated berries from NASA’s space food supplies. The carefully stacked ingredients formed a layered dessert that could be safely eaten in the weightless environment of space.
Unlike cakes on Earth, however, nothing is actually baked aboard the ISS.
Traditional ovens are impractical in microgravity because convection, the natural circulation of hot air that evenly cooks food, does not function the same way in space. Loose crumbs can also float into sensitive equipment and ventilation systems, making conventional cakes unsuitable for astronauts.
Instead, astronauts creatively assemble desserts from specially packaged space foods designed for long-duration missions.
Meir said every homemade “space cake” is unique, with one of the crew’s favourite additions being pine nuts, which provide extra texture and flavour without creating floating crumbs.
“Our crewmates are such ‘space kitchen’ masters, that I’ve eaten far more cake on the Space Station than I do on Earth!” she wrote, adding that the latest creation was prepared to celebrate her birthday.
She also thanked the entire Expedition 74 crew for making the occasion memorable despite being far from home.
The light-hearted celebration highlights the human side of life aboard the International Space Station. While astronauts spend months conducting cutting-edge research in microgravity, they also preserve familiar traditions by celebrating birthdays, sharing meals and supporting one another.
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