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Chocolate chip wins the race to space – The Hindu, The Hindu

Chocolate chip wins the race to space – The Hindu, The Hindu


‘Houston we have a cookie…’ a tweet by DoubleTree by Hilton read last week, as the hotel chain became the first in the world to send its closely-guarded cookie dough to outer space; all set to be baked fresh for the astronauts there.

Two decades after astronauts arrived at the International Space Station, they are set to experiment with making fresh food in their microgravity environment, courtesy a special oven developed by Zero G Kitchen. And these cookies are a part of this experiment.

“We have always wanted to take this brand all over the world; at the height of the Space Race, Conrad Hilton even dreamed of taking Hilton to the moon! ”says Shawn McAteer, senior vice president and global head, DoubleTree by Hilton. “We are always looking out for opportunities to take our hospitality to new frontiers.

So, when SpaceX launched a Tesla Roadster into space in February 2018, DoubleTree by Hilton sent Elon Musk a Tweet asking if Starman, the spacesuit-wearing mannequin “driving” the car, wanted a chocolate chip cookie for his trip. While Musk never responded, it caught the attention of the founders of Zero G Kitchen, a company that creates appliances for microgravity use in long duration space flights. The company was creating an oven with Nanoracks (a leading provider of commercial access to space) to bake in space.

“Their goal was to create a full suite of kitchen appliances that could make food in space, to make long-duration space flight more hospitable. Our chocolate chip cookies fit right into this scheme of things. The founders reached out to us and a sweet partnership was formed between Zero G Kitchen, Nanoracks and DoubleTree by Hilton, ”says Shawn.

He adds, “We are thrilled and extremely honored to have partnered with Zero G Kitchen and Nanoracks for this ground-breaking program. Hilton is now the first hotel company to experiment on the International Space Station (ISS) – and in our 100 th year at that. ”

For over three decades now, the hotel chain has been offering its guests a warm chocolate chip cookie as a welcome gesture. The cookies are synonymous with the hotel and the recipe is a closely guarded secret. It has been shared with a select group of bakeries across the world and one can buy the dough tobaking it at home.

The science behind it

Zero G Kitchen and Nanoracks conducted extensive research over the last few years to deliver the prototype space oven. With their expertise in space systems companies, the team successfully navigated challenging demands – from addressing the microgravity environment aboard ISS to adhering to NASA’s safety standards. “Working with a multitude of partners, the team was beholden to the shifting schedules and timelines related to testing the oven and launching it to the ISS, so they had to remain flexible throughout the process,” says Shawn.

He adds, “This is truly an experiment, so we are unsure of what our cookies will look, feel or taste like once they arrive back on Earth. While we expect the cookies to be fit for consumption after being baked on the ISS, the NASA Food Lab requires additional testing before any food, including cookies, can be considered officially ‘edible’. We’re excited to find out! ”

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