Agnirva Space Premier League - Expedition #31543: Space Cheeseballs: How Dickinson High School Took Snack Science to Orbit

When you think of space experiments, what comes to mind? Complex robotics, gravity-defying physics, or perhaps astronaut fitness routines. But what about cheeseballs? That’s right—students from Dickinson High School in Dickinson, Texas launched a project aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to investigate how cheeseballs behave in microgravity. This educational endeavor was not only fun but highly insightful into the ways different textures, oils, and compositions of food can behave in zero gravity.

The project, part of the NanoRacks educational program and sponsored by NASA, took place during Expeditions 37/38. Under the guidance of Principal Investigator Thomas Hall and in collaboration with the Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology, the students packed a batch of cheeseballs into a small payload to journey to the ISS. The goal? To observe any changes in the color, texture, or structure of cheeseballs in space, and compare them to their Earth-bound counterparts.

Why cheeseballs? The idea was to investigate how oil-based snacks respond to prolonged weightlessness. Do they retain their shape? Do they become stale faster? Does microgravity affect their structural integrity? These questions, though simple on the surface, are fundamental when considering the future of food storage and packaging in long-duration space missions.

The experiment provided hands-on STEM learning for students and an amusing, memorable angle to food science in space. Results indicated that while cheeseballs maintain their appearance, their texture can subtly change over time, possibly due to oil separation or microgravity's impact on gas dispersion in the snack.

This playful yet informative study proves that even snacks can offer valuable scientific insights, especially when your laboratory orbits 250 miles above Earth.

Join the Agnirva Space Internship Program

Get certified with over 100 hours of immersive, self-paced learning in astronomy, cosmology, space technology, and climate science through the Agnirva Space Internship Program. Join, complete virtual projects, and earn a digital certificate to showcase your space fluency in interviews, resumes, and beyond.