By Yoshikazu Tsuno
Osaka, Japan - After conquering Earth, instant noodles have now headed into space with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who brought a new zero-gravity version aboard the American shuttle Discovery.
Nissin Food, whose invention of instant noodles sparked a 65-billion-pack-a-year global industry, developed a special ball-shaped version of the usually dangling noodle that space travellers can eat easily with a fork.
Space Ram, unveiled by the firm hours after Noguchi and his six fellow astronauts blasted off Tuesday, comes in four different flavours - soy sauce, miso, curry and pork broth.
Noguchi helped test the early stages of the astro ramen, which astronauts can open and eat normally rather than suck through a tube like other space meals.
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The soup is thick enough to prevent spilling, Nissin said, while the noodle balls retain their shape after being re-heated.
Boiling water is not used in space so Space Ram can be heated with water of 70°C, thanks to a unique blend of flour and starch, it said.
On hand for the unveiling of Space Ram in Osaka was Nissin founder Momofuku Ando, who invented the world's first instant noodle in 1958 and came up with the noodles in a cup version in 1971.
His Cup Noodles have swept the planet - and been widely replicated - and the Nissin group now boasts annual sales exceeding 300 billion yen.
Nissin have patented the space-noodle technology, but have no immediate plans to put it on - or even floating above - grocery store shelves here on Earth.
The firm put a 10-member team in charge of developing Space Ram with help from Japan's space programme.
Ramen's entry into the stars was only part of the excitement in Japan over Noguchi, who is the sixth Japanese to enter space.
"With that knowledge, technique, brains and physical strength, he is a superman in all respects," said Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who the government said may chat with the ramen-eating astronaut while in space.
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