The jar of Nutella floating through NASA’s Artemis II livestream may have lasted only a few seconds, but it instantly became one of the mission’s most talked-about moments.
According to CNN, just minutes before the four-person crew broke the record for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth, a container of the chocolate-hazelnut spread drifted out of Orion’s galley area and slowly rotated through the cabin in full view of the camera.
The label faced forward almost perfectly as the spacecraft prepared to pass the 252,756-mile mark, surpassing the distance record previously set by Apollo 13 in 1970.
The brand wasted little time embracing the attention. Nutella posted the clip online with the caption, “Honored to have traveled further than any spread in history,” before following it up with another message that read, “Houston, we have Nutella in space.”
Ferrero North America president Michael Lindsey later said the company was “over the Moon” that astronauts had chosen the product for the mission.
Despite the social media frenzy, NASA said the appearance was not planned product placement. Agency officials stressed that the jar was simply part of the astronauts’ approved menu and that crew food is never selected through brand partnerships.
Orion carries 189 food items for the 10-day mission, including macaroni and cheese, beef brisket, vegetable quiche, cookies, and chocolate treats. Since bread is not allowed in spacecraft because crumbs can damage equipment, astronauts typically use tortillas or flatbread instead.
Nutella, first introduced in Italy in 1964 by Ferrero, has long been marketed as a comfort food tied to childhood breakfasts and late-night snacks.
The viral clip also arrived during a milestone week for Artemis II. In addition to breaking the human-distance record, the crew captured dramatic images of Earth setting behind the Moon and viewed a total solar eclipse from space before beginning the trip home.
The mission is expected to splash down in the Pacific on Friday, April 10.
