Astronaut Soichi Noguchi on Tuesday described his encounter with instant noodles aboard the space shuttle Discovery with zeal.
Noguchi said during a news conference broadcast from space that he tried the instant ramen dish on the second day of his journey.
"I enjoyed it -- it was surprisingly close to the taste (of noodles) on Earth," he said.
The special noodles, Space Ram, were developed by instant noodle pioneer Nissin Food Products Co.
They become edible after five minutes steeped in 70-degree water. To prevent spilling in zero-gravity, the broth is thicker than normal and the noodles are in blocks.
Noguchi helped develop the product in its initial stages.
