Have You Seen This?
by Tim Vandenack, KSL.com · KSL.comEstimated read time: 2-3 minutes
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION — Plenty of serious stuff happens at the International Space Station, the spacecraft orbiting the Earth that hosts astronauts from around the world.
Among the many noble goals of the space station, according to NASA, are advancing understanding in human physiology, biology and the sciences to benefit the inhabitants of Earth.
Astronauts have a little time to have fun, though, and U.S. astronaut Matthew Dominick offered a glimpse into the hijinks that sometimes occur in space with a recent demonstration on how to each ketchup in zero gravity. In a post to his X account on Oct. 22, he holds a ketchup bottle at arm's length and squeezes it while the red stuff flows horizontally in a stream into his open mouth.
"This one goes out to all the ketchup lovers out there. Everyone I've shared it with either thinks it is awesome or gross. Nothing in between. Also, some interesting science stuff happening," he wrote in the X post.
He was assisted in the video by fellow astronauts Sunita Williams and Don Pettit, who can be heard laughing as the experiment proceeds. "We're going to eat ketchup in zero-G," Dominick says. "Ready?"
The display generated varied responses from his followers on X, mostly in amusement. "Disgusting. That was awesome," wrote one.
Others noted the quantity of ketchup he ingested. "As a boy mom, awesome. As a wellness enthusiast, gross. You've made me question myself," wrote another follower.
Dominick splashed down from his International Space Station mission with three other colleagues on Oct. 25 after a seven-month science mission, according to NASA. Apart from the ketchup experiment, he carried out investigative work related to cardiac tissue bioprinting. "Results could advance technologies for producing organs and tissues in lieu of donated organs for transplant and improve 3D printing so that crews on future long-duration space missions could print foods and medicines on demand," reads a NASA explanation of the initiative.
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Tim Vandenack
Tim Vandenack covers immigration, multicultural issues and Northern Utah for KSL.com. He worked several years for the Standard-Examiner in Ogden and has lived and reported in Mexico, Chile and along the U.S.-Mexico border.