Astronauts Celebrate Artemis II Return with Peanut M&M's

The crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission touched down in the Pacific Ocean on May 1, ending a ten‑day flight that took them around the Moon. Commander Reid Wiseman described the moment as the team waited for rescue teams to open the hatch.

Mission specialist Christina Koch then reached into her suit pocket, offered a packet of Peanut M&M's, and asked, “I’ve got some Peanut M&M’s, does anybody want some?” The crew—Koch, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen—leaned against the Orion capsule and ate the candy while still floating in the recovery vessel.

M&M's have been part of U.S. spaceflight since March 1982, when the third crew of the Space Shuttle program carried the plain variety on STS‑4. Peanut‑coated M&M's joined the menu in 1984 and have since appeared on Russia’s Mir station, the International Space Station, and commercial flights such as SpaceShipOne. The candy’s “melt in your mouth, not in your hand” formula makes it well‑suited for microgravity environments.

The Artemis II snack was not listed in NASA’s pre‑flight food summary, so the revelation came only after Wiseman’s live town‑hall interview. Video from the mission shows Wiseman opening a clear pouch and tossing a candy to Hansen, who catches it in his mouth on the second try.

While earlier lunar missions carried other sweets—Life Savers, chocolate cubes, and a Hershey Tropical bar—M&M's never flew to the Moon before. Their appearance on Artemis II adds a new chapter to a candy that has been marketed as “the first candy in space.”

The moment underscores how everyday items become part of historic milestones. As Artemis III prepares for a crewed lunar landing, future missions may feature more familiar comforts, turning snack choices into subtle symbols of humanity’s return to the Moon.

What to watch: Whether NASA will include M&M's or other popular treats on upcoming Artemis flights and how crew nutrition plans evolve for longer lunar stays.