Pizza, ice cream speeding toward International Space Station, astronauts can't wait

Frozen pizza and ice cream treats are among the 7,400 pounds of cargo items barreling toward the International Space Station on a Cygnus spacecraft.

NASA launched the cargo ship aboard an unmanned Antares rocket rocket from its Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia, Sunday morning.

The spacecraft is expected to arrive at the ISS on Tuesday and return on Dec. 4.

In addition to binge food items, the spacecraft is carrying science and research "studies on antibiotic resistance, high-speed data transmission, plant growth and improved power and communication technologies," NASA officials said in a press release.

The mission includes an investigation into how microgravity affects the antibiotic resistance of the E. coli bacteria.

Another project, the Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration, or OCSD, will study the "high-speed optical transmission of data and small spacecraft proximity operations," NASA officials said.

 

The space agency hopes the research will lead to better satellite communications and better communication speeds between Earth and space.

But the six astronauts aboard the ISS are probably most excited about the binge food heading their way, which includes ice cream bars, frozen fruit bars, cups of vanilla and chocolate ice cream and ice cream sandwiches.

Cox Media Group