Astronaut Ordered a Pizza From Space So It'd Be Ready as Soon as He Returned to Earth

Being an astronaut not only requires an insane level of mental acuity and physical fitness, but also the emotional strength to be able to leave your literal world -- and everyone and everything on it -- behind. Still, it's tough to know just how lonely it'll be floating hundreds of miles above the Earth until you're up there for a while and really, really jonesing for a piping hot delivery pizza.

That's at least according to one NASA astronaut, who recently revealed that he was craving an actual pizza so badly during his space mission that he ordered one from the Space Shuttle on its descent so that it would be hot and ready for him as soon as he landed. 

Speaking after a screening of the new space travel documentary One Strange Rock, astronaut Mike Massimino recounted the time he ordered a pizza from the Space Shuttle on its way back to Earth because he simply couldn't wait a second longer than necessary to get his hands on an authentic slice. After all, space food leaves quite a bit to be desired, so we totally understand where his longing for a hot piece of cheesy pie comes from. 

Massimino, who traveled on two different Space Shuttle missions (in 2002 and 2009, respectively), went on to explain that astronauts love pizza so much that NASA recently engineered zero gravity-ready pizza-making kits. However, he also voiced his skepticism of the stuff, questioning how it could ever stand up next to the freshly oven-baked version we've grown so accustomed to down here, according to a report from Space.com. Who knows, maybe one day Elon Musk will figure out how to schlep few large pepperonis and mushrooms up to the hungry souls toiling on the International Space Station. 

In any case, let this just serve as a reminder for the next time your Pizza Hut delivery is taking a bit longer than you'd anticipated, that things could be much, much worse. 

h/tFood & Wine

Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email and subscribe here for our YouTube channel to get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.