naure.com
FoodSurprise 5/5Difficulty 4/5Reviewed on September 13, 2026

Wasabi loses its spicy flavour in space.

Why it is true

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata discovered that wasabi loses its spicy flavour on the International Space Station. The phenomenon is due to the altered perception of odours in space, where body fluids move to the head and change the sense of taste.

Source: NASA

Would you rather be asked first?

This is the reading side of the site, so the answer is in the sentence above — that is the whole point of it. Test yourself works the other way round: the question comes on its own, and the fact and the explanation only appear once you have answered.

Test yourself →10-question challenge

Related facts

More in Food

See all →