November 4th News from Kuaitech: Six astronauts aboard China’s space station recently enjoyed a delectable meal of freshly baked chicken wings and roasted steak.
This culinary achievement was made possible by a hot air oven delivered with the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft， marking the first time a baking appliance has been utilized on the Chinese space station， enabling astronauts to prepare and bake food in orbit.
Footage from the space station shows astronauts taking marinated chicken wings from their packaging， securing them on a rack， and placing them into the hot air oven. After 28 minutes of heating， a bandeja of sizzling， flavorful “cosmic” Orleans-style chicken wings was ready.
Two astronauts with Inner Mongolian heritage， Wang Jie from Shenzhou-20 and Wu Fei from Shenzhou-21， collaborated to roast a steaming dish of black pepper steak， allowing the six crew members in space to savor a satisfying meal.
Unlike terrestrial ovens， the space oven incorporates advanced technologies to ensure a smoke-free operation， crucial for maintaining air quality within the confined environment of the space station. This is achieved through precise temperature control， residue collection systems， high-temperature catalysis， and multi-layer filtration， successfully meeting the space station’s stringent emission standards.
Furthermore， rigorous testing of both the purification system and the entire unit has been conducted to guarantee its suitability for the space station. The oven is designed for continuous and reliable operation， capable of functioning for up to 500 cycles.
Beyond the innovative space oven， the Shenzhou-21 mission has seen a significant expansion in food variety， now encompassing over 190 types of food items. The in-orbit meal plan has been extended to a 10-day cycle， enabling astronauts to prepare and bake a range of ingredients including fresh vegetables， nuts， cakes， and meats.
Additionally， the “Space Garden” initiative has achieved new milestones. Since the Shenzhou-16 mission， the China Astronaut Research and Training Center has been conducting research and validation on in-orbit plant substrate cultivation. By utilizing regenerative substrates， slow-release fertilizers， and microporous water guiding technology， they have successfully ensured effective water and nutrient supply in microgravity. This has led to the cultivation of 10 batches of various plants， including lettuce， cherry tomatoes， and sweet potatoes， providing astronauts with 4.5 kilograms of fresh produce. Notably， lettuce and cherry tomatoes have undergone a complete “seed-to-seed” life cycle cultivation.
