Tacos are now in space

Without a doubt, tacos are a staple in Mexican cuisine. Pastor, steak, fajita, cochinita, chicharrón in green sauce, potatoes with chorizo, poblano peppers in cream. Basically, all you need are some tortillas and whatever filling you want and you got yourself a taco.

Tacos are so popular that they are now in space. Seriously. NASA recently shared on its twitter account @Space_Station a picture of a taco floating in what appears to be a space shuttle. And, we must say, the taco does not look bad at all.

For some time now, NASA has worked on improving the flavor, texture and shelf life of the meals it sends up to its astronauts. Food scientists face the challenge of developing a menu that is healthy and meets the requirements for sustaining life and providing the energy needed for astronauts to work in the extreme conditions of space.

The food they develop also has to be easy to eat in conditions of weightlessness, be able to be stored at ambient temperature and meet all of the nutritional needs of astronauts during their time in space.

That's when the taco comes into play. Food scientists say that tortillas make a perfect edible outer casing that hold all kinds of ingredients in place. And unlike bread, tortillas create few crumbs and are much easier to store. Bread crumbs float around the shuttle and can potentially clog up filters and damage equipment.

So there you have it. Tacos in space. If you were in space, what kind of taco would you eat?