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Russians preparing dinner for Americans in space? Sounds good to us.

There\u2019s been a lot of jabber these days about creating a \u201cSpace Force,\u201d a sixth branch of the US military to dominate outer space. Over the years we\u2019ve talked with astronauts about what it\u2019s like up there - about the food they eat and the teams they work with daily while orbiting the earth. It turns out they have other ideas about what can happen in space, like educating our youth and \u201cgastrodipolmacy\u201d\u2014 the use of food as a diplomatic tool to help resolve conflicts and foster connections between nations.

NASA astronaut Bill McArthur talks about the power of sharing meals with Russian Cosmonaut Valery Korzu during their six months together on the Space Station.

South Korea\u2019s first astronaut, Astronaut Soyeon Yi, describes Kimchi Diplomacy in space, the Korean government\u2019s efforts to invent kimchi for space travel, and the special Korean meal she prepared for her Russian comrades in orbit. Soyeon Yi, one of 36,000 applicants, became South Korea\u2019s first astronaut in 2008. She talks about how she was selected and about the power of food: \u201cHaving kimchi in space, you are far from your home planet,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen you eat your own traditional food it makes you feel emotionally supported. I can feel my home.\u201d