The mushrooms spread out on the chopping board seemed normal enough. They were rich and dense, and had a strong earthy aroma. In the saucepan, they melted – along with the cheese – to form a creamy pasta sauce.

A quick taste test proved they were delicious. The rich lion’s mane flavour immediately shone through.

This was the first meal we made with these unique mushrooms. They were gourmet, but not from any grocery store you can find on Earth.

These special fungi had travelled to space, lived aboard the International Space Station for more than a month, returned safely to Earth, and eventually came back to Australia in 2025.

In August 2024, we launched a set of 36 small vials into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. In these vials were three edible fungi species in the form of mycelium – small file filaments that act like the root network of mushrooms.

The species we tested were lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus), turkey’s tail (Trametes versicolor) and cordyceps (Cordyceps........

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