July 20 marks the 57th anniversary of the 1969 moon landing, with Neil Armstrong becoming the first person to walk on its surface. Armstrong and his fellow astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins travelled there on the spacecraft Apollo 11, leaving Earth on July 16 and returning home eight days later on July 24.

One of the many challenges of the journey concerned making sure the crew would be able to eat and drink what they needed while they were away from Earth, which required meticulous planning. Here’s a look at what the Apollo 11 astronauts ate on their journey to the moon.

As with all other aspects of the journey, the preparations for this had begun years before: astronauts tested what was possible to eat in space to see what would be plausible for a longer journey. John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth, likewise became the first American to eat a meal in space, and showed that it was possible to eat and digest things in those conditions (one of the things Glenn tested out was a tube of apple puree).

After 1961, every astronaut had a substantial breakfast on Earth before take-off; but once they had begun the journey, the content of the meals changed accordingly, and were carefully prepared to ensure the astronauts got enough calories each day (2800 on the Apollo 11 mission).

Why Freeze-Dried Food Became NASA’s Go-To

Many items the Apollo 11 astronauts ate were freeze-dried, which was necessary in order to keep them fresh and prevent them from losing nutrients. The National Air and Space Museum holds a package in its collections which shows some of the items prepared in this way for the crew to eat on the journey.

One contained freeze-dried chicken with rice and sauce, in an airtight plastic bag; the package was carefully wrapped in laminated film to prevent it from perishing or losing its flavor. This kind of dish was one of the daily three meals which the astronauts were allocated each day of their voyage. Other freeze-dried items included fruit cake and cubes of barbecued beef. Apollo 11 was also the first space voyage where it was possible for the crew to eat hot dogs. The very first meal eaten on the Moon itself consisted of bacon (in the form of cubes) along with sugar cookies (likewise in cube form) and peaches, along with coffee and a pineapple and grapefruit soft drink.

The Astronauts’ Post-Mission Menu

After the crew returned to Earth, they had to go through a period of quarantine to be sure they had not inadvertently brought any harmful bacteria back with them, which also meant a final period of unusual eating before going back to their normal lives in the world. Menus survive which show the meals they had while in this 21-day quarantine. Although more limited than what could be eaten out in the wider world, it shows how it was possible once more for them to eat items like soup which they could not have consumed for obvious reasons while on their historic mission.

And while the astronauts of today now have a much wider range of items which can be consumed in space, a number of things remain as impossible to take now as they were at the time of the Apollo 11 mission, including alcohol and anything perishable, to minimize health risks to the astronauts while they are away from Earth.

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