We were watching with bated breath as the crew of NASA’s historic Artemis 2 mission became the farthest any humans had ever ventured from Earth. Just after 2 pm Eastern time, the four astronauts reached a maximum distance of 252,752 miles as their Orion spacecraft whipped around the Moon.
Sharing the momentous occasion was a lone jar of Nutella hazelnut spread, which could be seen floating through the cabin around four minutes before breaking the record that was previously set by NASA’s Apollo 13 mission in 1970.
In other words, while their toilet may continue to act up and they’re forced to sleep in cocoon-like sleeping bags during their ten-day mission, they at least didn’t have to miss out on any calorific indulgences.
“Nutella just hit a world record flying as far away from Earth as nobody else did before,” one X user mused.
Others pointed out the enormous and possibly free publicity Italian Nutella manufacturer Ferrero just received from NASA’s mission.
“Nutella just got the ultimate Space Ad provided by the Artemis 2 crew,” another user tweeted.
Some netizens accused NASA of staging the condiment’s brief appearance, calling it “product placement.”
But NASA shut down that rumor, with agency press secretary Bethany Stevens telling Futurism in a statement that “NASA does not select crew meals or food in association with brand partnerships.”
“This was not a product placement,” she added.
Apart from what appears to be a full-sized jar of Nutella, the astronauts have been feasting on mac and cheese, beef brisket, broccoli au gratin, and scrambled eggs, among many other menu items. They also brought a copious amount of hot sauce and coffee.
In case you were wondering how the team could possibly be getting through the entire jar of Nutella during their brief stint in space — without resorting to eating it by the spoonful or with their fingers (not that we’d judge, of course) — the team brought a whopping 58 tortillas, as Scientific American reports.
In our eyes, that should be ample real estate for a thick layer of the sumptuous hazelnut spread to keep their blood sugar levels — and perhaps more importantly, spirits — high.
More on the mission: The Moon Astronauts Just Broke the Record for the Farthest Any Human Has Ever Traveled From Earth