(Image credit: Astronaut Foods/collectSPACE.com) Perhaps the most popular example of space food that possibly never was, astronaut ice cream is now 50 years old.

He was wrong. According to The Franklin Institute, "Astronaut Ice Cream" remains one of the most popular souvenirs around the world, selling more than 30,000 packages every year in its Sci Store.

Although astronaut ice cream was originally developed by Whirlpool under contract to NASA for the Apollo missions, any records showing that it actually went into space are scarce on details. Some ...

That might be what makes astronaut ice cream so disconcerting — it teaches kids that something terrible for space travel is what astronauts eat. If kids want to eat astronaut ice cream, they ...

Perhaps the most popular example of space food that possibly never was, astronaut ice cream is now 50 years old. The crunchy, room-temperature treat was first sold to the public in 1974.

At least for now, Snickers ice cream bars and Blue Bell can be considered the unofficial "astronaut ice cream." Check out the slideshow about to see a ranking for the flavors of Blue Bell ice cream.

Ice cream has a richer (and weirder) history than you'd think. Discover the chilly facts and frosty firsts you’ve probably ...

It took 12 years after the first bite was ever consumed in space for ice cream to make its debut in microgravity, according to NASA. The history of space food has been a long and appetizing road.

That freeze-dried “astronaut” ice cream that was the neatest thing about going into space to you as a kid (or at least to me as a kid)? With its extreme crumbliness, it would be a very bad idea.

Astronaut Sunita Williams tweeted this photo of herself from October 2012 aboard the International Space Station enjoying a cup of ice cream. And even if it does melt, the same forces that bind liquid ...

The astronauts aboard the International Space Station are scooping out Brenham’s favorite ice cream. According to NPR, the SpaceX Dragon capsule made a special delivery to the station Monday.

Do this a few times until the screen on the far wall below a faded drawing of an astronaut lights up. Approach it and interact with it to receive the Astronaut Ice Cream.