Uber Eats delivers food to International Space Station

Fierce competition has been among food delivery platforms and they have been finding ways to engage customers. Lately, Uber Eats has delivered food to people who are not on the earth, but at the International Space Station.

Uber Eats has teamed up with Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa to deliver ready-to-eat canned Japanese dishes to the astronauts at the International Space Station as part of his 12-day orbit. Having travelled 248 miles and 8 hours and 34 minutes since Maezawa’s departure from the earth, the delivery was made on 11 December at 9:40 am EST.

Commenting on this mission, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said, “One small handoff for Yusaku Maezawa, one giant delivery for Uber Eats!”

Khosrowshahi added, "Our goal is to help people go anywhere and get anything, so we’re proud to serve the astronauts at the International Space Station. Maezawa gets a thumbs up on this delivery, even though it took a bit longer than the usual 30 minutes to arrive.”

Dishes delivered in this mission included boiled mackerel in miso, beef bowl cooked in sweet sauce, simmered chicken with bamboo shoots, and braised pork. Uber Eats said this mission can offer astronauts a delicious meal and that was a welcome break from standard space food.

“Uber Eats’ initiative and sense of adventure are inspiring. I will never stop challenging myself, and I hope that everyone continues to do the same. Let's make the world a better place!” said Maezawa.

Although its global division has created this campaign, its counterparts in Hong Kong will cease operation by the end of this year, switching its focus to its mobility platform in the city. On 30 November, Uber Eats Hong Kong uploaded a brief statement on its website. It read, "After five years of partnering with restaurants and delivery people in Hong Kong, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue Uber Eats in Hong Kong on 31 December 2021. Our priority now is to support our employees, restaurant partners, delivery people and consumers in the transition. We couldn’t have built what we did without their trust and hard work, and we thank them for their support for the platform."

It added, "Whilst we wind down our delivery platform operations in Hong Kong, we are more committed than ever to growing our mobility platform in the city, which is home to our largest Uber Taxi business globally."

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