Astronaut Kellie Gerardi Just Told Us How She Stayed Hydrated in Space

Ahead of the total solar eclipse on April 8, SunChips announced a brand-new, limited-edition flavor: Pineapple Habanero and Black Bean Spicy Gouda. The flavor, representing the heat of the sun and the “cheesiness” of the moon, will only be available on their website for the four minutes and 27 seconds of the eclipse’s duration of totality.

What better way to celebrate than alongside a real-life astronaut? Researcher and astronaut Kellie Gerardi is partnering with SunChips ahead of the eclipse to embrace the new flavor and spread the word about this celestial phenomenon. We were given the opportunity to talk to Gerardi all about it—plus asked about her space journey and her on-Earth routine. Read on for the exclusive interview.

EatingWell: While in space, how were you able to stay hydrated? 

Gerardi: This is such a great question. Hydration is so important, especially because it relates to your G tolerance as well. I flew as a payload specialist on a suborbital science mission, and one of the things that the medical team was really diligent about was ensuring that hydration was a top priority for me. And so I really started in the weeks before helping with my hydration intake and making sure that was a priority for myself. A fun fact is that I did have a diaper available to me. We call them “maximum absorbency garments,” which is very fun science lingo just to make sure that hydration wasn't even a second thought for me and that I wasn't too preoccupied with being nervous about having to use the restroom that I didn't take as much water as I needed. I’ve always used other electrolyte mixes and hydration tablets just to ensure that I was optimally hydrated, and that's something that I now incorporate into daily life as well. Hydration is something that is still very important to me even on Earth.

EatingWell: What was the recovery process like when returning from space? 

Gerardi: The biggest standout was just the adrenaline crash. Part of it was just experiencing something that was such a lifelong dream for me and then suddenly being on the other side of it. The other standout physical aspect after my space flight was really just to be emotional. I had such intense emotional saturation, the beauty of seeing our planet from space and seeing such a unique view that only a few hundred human beings have ever seen, only 90 women had ever seen before me, is something that just still makes me a little bit emotional to talk about. It’s something so precious and I'm just so grateful to have been able to experience this in a time where I am able to share it on social media, just to be able to share that moment, that profundity with people. It's something that I care so much about—being able to share that experience and being able to share the joy of space.

I think that's why a partnership like this has been so meaningful to me in the months after my space flight because it is just such a connection and a continuation of my love for space. The fact that everyone can find their place in space, it's not just something that's reserved for scientists or for engineers or for researchers. Space is our shared past and our shared future, so being able to take an event like this and move it out of the snack aisles and into the general public conversation is something that energizes me. It gets me really excited to blend all of my experiences together and be able to celebrate another unique celestial event.

EatingWell: Could you talk more about your partnership with SunChips?

Gerardi: I was really honored when SunChips reached out to me and asked me to be a part of this partnership. I built my social platform on being able to share space and the excitement of it to the general public. And so this campaign was just so exciting. Being able to create such an exciting campaign around a total solar eclipse, such a special celestial event, I just thought was really cool and creative. They have created a very special limited-edition flavor for the solar eclipse, and it's only going to be available during the four minutes and 27 seconds of totality, which I think is a really fun dimension to it.

EatingWell: Do you have any plans for the solar eclipse?

Gerardi: I'm taking my mom and my daughter, and the three of us are going to head to Texas and experience the eclipse there. I ordinarily live in Florida, so we have to travel a little bit to get into the line of totality, but it is such a unique and special event. I’m excited to share that with three generations of women in my family.

EatingWell: Do you have a morning routine that you stick by?

Gerardi: Especially being a parent, I think so much is dictated in the mornings for me about what's going on in my household. So I think our priority as a family is really just getting to school on time, getting everyone out the door ready and then trying to sort of reset for our day. Breakfast is something that we share together as a family and then everyone goes on their own way. I have a 6-year-old in kindergarten, so it's always a fun adventure in the mornings to get up and ready and out the door.

EatingWell: What’s your go-to breakfast?

Gerardi: For us it’s a lot of cereal, a lot of toast, a lot of hard-boiled eggs. Those are the staples in our household.

EatingWell: What does “eating well” mean to you?

Gerardi: Eating well to me means a combination of being able to enjoy what I'm eating and being able to share it with my entire family. It's not just what I'm eating, it's who I'm eating with. 

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.