Hilton has announced that the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have successfully baked the DoubleTree by Hilton chocolate chip cookie, making them the first food baked in space.
The successful DoubleTree chocolate chip cookie baking experiment is the first-of-its-kind experiment in orbit. It took place over the course of several days as a result of a partnership with Zero G Kitchen, proprietors of the first space oven, Nanoracks, a leading provider of commercial access to space, and DoubleTree by Hilton.
The experiment also marks Hilton as the first hospitality company to participate in research aboard the ISS.
“Perfecting the baking process… took time, even on Earth”
“Perfecting the baking process for our DoubleTree cookies took time, even on Earth, so we were excited to learn that our cookies appear to look and smell the same on the ISS as they do in our hotels,” said Shawn McAteer, senior vice president and global head, DoubleTree by Hilton. “The innovation displayed throughout this experiment and emphasis on making long-duration space travel more hospitable underscores our ongoing commitment to ensuring guests always have a comfortable stay, wherever they may travel.”
Following the 2 November launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, ISS Commander Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency baked the brand’s cookie dough inside the prototype oven, one cookie at a time, as fellow crew members, including NASA astronaut Christina Koch, checked on the progress.
The average DoubleTree chocolate chip cookie bakes in a convection oven for 16-18 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit on Earth, but there was no recipe for baking cookies in orbit.
