
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
They may not have all the fixins, but the astronauts aboard China's Tiangong space station are sure eating well.
A new oven delivered to Tiangong has been put to quick work by the six people currently living aboard the outpost, the astronauts of the Shenzhou 20 and Shenzhou 21 missions.
In a video released by the Astronaut Center of China (ACC), the space station crew is seen securing a set of chicken wings in a specially made grill cage and placing it in a small, cabinet-like compartment in the space station's wall.
The oven not only serves as a powerful technology demonstration for the microgravity microwave (which actually functions more like an air fryer), but it also provides a welcome flavor of home for the astronauts living aboard the station.
Kang Guohua, a senior member of the Chinese Society of Astronautics and a professor of aerospace engineering at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told Chinese state media that comforts such as hot meals are important to keep crews psychologically "grounded."
According to the ACC, the oven operates without stressing Tiangong's power grid and is designed to provide consistent and smokeless baking conditions in the station's microgravity environment. Such conditions are necessary aboard orbital outposts like Tiangong and the International Space Station (ISS), which rely on strictly maintained life support systems and rigorous fire safety protocols.
Cooking in microgravity differs from cooking something here on Earth. The sweet spot for the chicken wings was 28 minutes inside their enclosed grill container. Some peppered steak was also prepared for Shenzhou 20 Commander Chen Dong, according to a report from the Global Times, a tabloid owned by the state-run People's Daily.
The Global Times compared the cooking milestone to one notched aboard the ISS in 2019, when NASA astronauts baked cookies in space using a prototype Zero G oven. That test showed that baking things in orbit (at least cookies) takes longer than it does on Earth. But China's oven, unlike the temporary Zero G oven used aboard the ISS, is there to stay. The device has been integrated into Tiangong's systems and certified for up to 500 uses.
The Shenzhou 21 crew launched to Tiangong on Oct. 31 and will remain aboard Tiangong for roughly six months. The trio is relieving the Shenzhou 20 astronauts, who have been living aboard the station since April and will return to Earth on Nov. 5.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
The Secret Destinations Amex Says Will Be More Popular Than Bali by 202610.12.2025 - 2
Warning for snow and ice extended03.01.2026 - 3
Kids get diseases like lupus, too. As researchers hunt better treatments, this camp brings joy18.11.2025 - 4
The Best Design Bloggers for Style Motivation07.07.2023 - 5
The Job of a Land Legal counselor in Property Exchanges30.06.2023
A definitive Burger Confrontation: Which One Rules?
Christmas 2025 skywatching guide: What you can see in the night sky on Dec. 25
Instructions to Floss Appropriately and Forestall Gum Sickness
The most effective method to Boost Eco-friendliness in Your Volvo XC40
Extraordinary Shows to Long distance race on a Plane
French and Malaysian authorities are investigating Grok for generating sexualized deepfakes
Vote In favor of Your Favored Web based Dating Application
The 10 Most Progressive Logical Disclosures
Tatiana Schlossberg, a granddaughter of JFK, is dead at 35 after cancer diagnosis













