Artemis II crew reveals what snack they ate right after splashdown

Artemis astronauts describe "spectacular" moon mission, eating peanut M&M's after splashdown 06:59

Even though times have changed since the early days of dehydrated ice cream, astronaut food is notoriously bland. It's also designed not to have crumbs, since they could float around all over the capsule.

But candy isn't a problem.

When the Artemis II crew returned to Earth, the first thing they ate — before they were rescued from their capsule — was peanut M&Ms, commander Reid Wiseman said Friday during a "CBS Mornings" town hall, "Artemis II: A Celebration of Heroes." Wiseman and fellow astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen answered questions from students about their historic mission at the event.

"When we landed, we splashed down into the Pacific Ocean, waiting for the rescue forces to come open the hatch, and Christina, out of her spacesuit pocket, goes, 'I got some peanut M&Ms, anybody want some?'" Wiseman said, making the crew and the kids at the town hall laugh. "And so we're leaning against the side of the spacecraft, just come back from the moon, eating peanut M&Ms; we were happy."

It wasn't the only time food came up as a talking point on the space flight.

People back on Earth couldn't help but notice a jar of Nutella floating through the capsule just minutes before the four astronauts set the record for the farthest any human has ever traveled from Earth.

The jar was seen floating just behind Koch's head in the shot.

NASA confirmed the moment was definitely not product placement, but Nutella's owner, the Ferrero Group, still enjoyed basking in the (moon) glow.

"Honored to have traveled further than any spread in history 🚀 Taking spreading smiles to new heights," the company wrote on X, adding, "We've traveled to a lot of breakfast tables. Never any quite like this."

Eating in space

As it turns out, the crew said the food wasn't so bad on the mission.

Wiseman said the crew enjoyed speaking with the team on the International Space Station on their way back to Earth for a very specific reason.

"On flight Day 7, we had a link up with the International Space Station," he said. "It was one of our favorite days and the best part about that whole call was we were all eating the same food."

Asked what food they enjoyed on the trip, Wiseman and Glover excitedly listed off spicy green beans, broccoli au gratin and fajitas among the meal options.