Science

Mystery Astronaut Asked for Uniqlo Deliveries to ISS, FOIA Docs Reveal

Space just got a little more stylish.

Flickr / Kowh

There’s at least one stylish astronaut on board the International Space Station. A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) document revealed what kinds of items NASA is sending the ISS team to keep them comfortable, ranging from pizza and ice cream to Uniqlo’s hottest trends.

In November, ISS received a 7,400-pound shipment of supplies, per a list of requests the astronauts sent NASA. Thanks to a FOIA request from Michael Morisy, co-founder of the transparency non-profit MuckRock, NASA provided the inventory of everything that was sent to the team currently working in low Earth orbit. The list does not disappoint.

While most of the supplies, delivered via Orbital ATK, fall under technical categories and are clearly job-related, the items requested for personal use are the most revealing. Five Moleskine notebooks were included in the hefty care package, as well as 36 bottles of shaving cream. Flags, Olympic gear, and chewing gum made it to the list, and enough pizzas and ice cream were sent to keep any cosmonaut happy.

The biggest surprise on the list is one mystery astronaut’s request for a designer brand. Of the 213 shirts requested, Uniqlo was the only brand specifically named in the ISS memo. The Japanese casual-wear designer offers retail in over a dozen other countries, but can now name Earth’s lower orbit as one of its trendy new locations.

On Friday, the Russian Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft made contact with the International Space Station and docked successfully. When the Soyuz trio enter the ISS, scheduled for March 29, they will begin preparation for “several intense spacewalking activities” and will no doubt be impressed with the fashion trends on board the ISS.

Uniqlo fans were thrilled to see their style reflected from space, even if the astronaut remains anonymous for now. No one is sure who requested the fashion swag, but it’s probably safe to assume it wasn’t the astronaut who requested four fanny packs.

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