Japanese Delivery a Hit on the ISS

Apparently the ISS astronauts have been getting a little tired of their diet of freeze dried spacefood, so it was a big hit when Japanese astronaut Takao Doi visited and brought in some take out - or is it take up?

"Doi, a veteran spaceflyer who is helping deliver the first segment of Japan's massive Kibo laboratory to the ISS, packed three types of Japanese noodles, some salmon and steamed rice for his crewmates aboard the shuttle Endeavour and space station.

"Actually, the Japanese food was great, especially after being up here for five months," station commander Peggy Whitson told Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda late Wednesday. "Takao was kind enough to bring us chopsticks to make it official."

Doi arrived on the currently running Endeavor STS-123 mission to deliver the both the Canadian Dextre robot arm and the Japanese constructed Logistics Pressurized module the first piece of the Kibo laboratory module, adding what will amount to a "space closet" for additional storage in the lab. The primary module for the lab will be sent up in May, with the last piece a "space porch" arriving in 2009. Doi is also testing some new Japanese designed space threads, including skivvies and experimenting how a boomerang works in zero gee.

The life these people lead is too bizarre to comment on fully, but it does make for some interesting blogging.