One of the most popular types of hot convenience store food in Japan is Lawson's "Karaage-kun", nuggets of karaage (Japanese fried chicken) that come in a wide variety of flavors including Final Fantasy Limit Break. The cutesy chicken package is a great magnet for fried chicken lovers to the register.

While we thought we a chicken robot that dispenses Karaage-kun may have been the most futuristic take on the popular fried chicken, it turns out that JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) had a chicken trump card up their sleeve as they have developed a certified space food version of Karaage-kun for those above the International Space Station.

JAXA has been testing a freeze dried karaage-kun since February 2017, and after passing an 11-month shelf life test in October 2019, passed apreservation test up to 1.5 years, and received official "Space Japanese Food" certification. The intention of the space karaage-kun is to provide a comforting taste of home for astronauts aboard the ISS for long periods of time to prevent mental stress.

The next big step for karaage-kun kind is for those on the ISS to actually try it out.