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Japanese Kaki No Tane snacks declared “space food” by JAXA

Master Blaster Aug 10, 2017
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These delectable little snacks will boldly go where no persimmon-seed-shaped cracker has gone before.

For over half a century Kaki No Tane (Persimmon Seeds) have been enjoyed in Japan by all ages. Despite the name, these crackers only resemble the seeds of the persimmon fruit and are actually made out of rice.

They’re really delicious and I especially enjoy the wasabi flavored ones. Whenever I feel exhausted at work, I just pour a mouthful of those things straight into my mouth from the bag and it wakes me right up for a good 30 minutes.

So it is with great pleasure that I announce that Kaki No Tane has been officially certified “Space Japanese Food” by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). This means that it will be sent with Japanese astronauts to help boost and maintain their morale with a little taste of home while they’re floating in a most peculiar way.

▼ Kaki No Tane‘s space food privileges are good until 2022

Image: @Press

Now before you go thinking you can have your signature chili recipe or jello shooters declared space food too, hold your horses. It takes considerable effort to meet JAXA standards. In the case of Kaki No Tane manufacturer Kameda Seika, three years of research and development were needed.

Starting in 2014, they hoped to get it approved in time for the product’s 50th anniversary in 2016 but had to settle for an announcement of their intentions to go to space only. Luckily, 2017 was an auspicious year, as well as being Kameda Seika’s 60th anniversary, so it all worked out in the end.

Rather than the festive packaging of commercial Kaki No Tane, these snacks are all business in a special silver bag with a shelf life of a year-and-a-half and no-nonsense labeling such as, “Instructions: Eat as it is.”

Image: @Press

Inside is a 32.4-cubic centimeter (2-cubic inch) tray with a Velcro latch. This allows astronauts to reseal the container and affix it to fabric surfaces, keeping it in place in zero-gravity. Because the last thing you need on a sophisticated orbital station are tiny crackers floating around.

Image: @Press

This of course is one small step for crackers but one giant leap for Japan, and the nation’s citizens held back tears of respect to make comments.

“The people’s snack Kaki No Tane will advance to space!”
“Awesome! I want to see Kaki No Tane floating in space.”
“Finally, the day has come for Kaki No Tane to fly into space. I’m glad our astronauts have more variety of foods.”
“Too bad the astronauts can’t have sake with them. That’s when they’re most delicious.”

If you want to try some space Kaki No Tane, all you have to do is pass JAXA’s astronaut training program and then get selected for a mission. I suppose you could try to become an astronaut in another country and request then, but there are no guarantees it would work.

For now, the rest of us will just have to wish Kaki No Tane the best of luck on their journey. I think JFK said it best: “The moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as they set sail we ask God’s blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which crackers have ever embarked.”

Image: Wikipedia/NASA (Edited by SoraNews24)

Stay safe, little crackers…

Source: @Press, Peachy, My Game News Flash
Featured image: Wikipedia/NASA (Edited by SoraNews24)