Astronauts barbecue chicken wings, steaks in China's space station

JIUQUAN -- Aboard China's space station, the hot air oven delivered by the Shenzhou XXI spacecraft has begun baking, as a viral video showed astronauts savoring freshly cooked chicken wings and steaks for the first time.

In the video beamed down from the space station, Shenzhou XXI crew member and space engineer Wu Fei is seen taking marinated chicken wings from a package, placing them on a skewer rack, and sliding them into the oven, which, after about 28 minutes, produced a plate of sizzling, space-made New Orleans chicken wings.

Wang Jie from the Shenzhou XX crew and Wu Fei, both hailing from North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region -- renowned for its high-quality beef and mutton -- also baked a plate of black pepper steaks. The chicken wings and steaks were soon shared among the six astronauts, with their faces beaming with delight.

The Shenzhou XXI spaceship was launched on late Friday and its three crew members entered the space station hours later. They have spent several days living and working alongside the Shenzhou XX crew, who are scheduled to return to Earth on Nov 5.

The space oven has been significantly upgraded compared with conventional ovens on Earth. According to Liu Weibo from the China Astronaut Research and Training Center, the improvements include technologies for precise temperature control, residue collection, high-temperature catalysis, and multi-layer filtration, enabling smoke-free baking in orbit while meeting the space station's oil fume emission standards.

The oven and its purification system also underwent rigorous testing to ensure they meet the space station's access conditions and can operate continuously and reliably for up to 500 cycles.

Using the oven to prepare food marks the latest advancement in the life support system of China's space station. According to the center, the Shenzhou XXI mission has expanded the food variety to over 190 items and extended the menu cycle to 10 days, allowing astronauts to cook and bake ingredients such as fresh vegetables, nuts, cakes and meat while in orbit.

Liu said that after spending several months in the relatively confined space of the station, being able to enjoy aromatic chicken wings and steaks, or freshly baked peanuts and bread prepared by themselves, would surely bring the astronauts a sense of happiness.

Since China's manned space program entered the phase of space station application and development, ground researchers have continuously improved the variety, texture, flavor, appearance and nutritional value of space food through technological innovation and process enhancements, better meeting the dietary needs of astronauts.

In addition, new progress has been made in the space station's vegetable garden. Since the Shenzhou XVI mission, the center has carried out research and verification on in-orbit plant substrate cultivation. By using regenerative substrate, long-term controlled-release fertilizer and microporous water conduction technology, the garden has achieved effective supply of water and nutrients under microgravity conditions.

So far, 10 batches of seven plant species, including lettuce, cherry tomatoes and sweet potatoes, have been cultivated, providing astronauts with 4.5 kg of fresh fruits and vegetables. Among them, lettuce and cherry tomatoes have achieved a full-cycle cultivation from seed to seed.

"We prepared feasts for the astronauts for traditional Chinese festivals such as Spring Festival, and there are even gift packages that can only be opened on the day of the festival," said Zang Peng from the center.