Chinese astronauts enjoy handover BBQ in world first on board space station

The delayed return of three astronauts on board China’s space station – while safety checks are carried out after a suspected small debris strike – came hard on the heels of a freshly baked meal of chicken wings and black pepper steak with the incoming crew.

In the early hours of Tuesday, state news agency Xinhua reported that the six astronauts shared a meal prepared with a hot air oven brought by the incoming Shenzhou-21 crew, as part of efforts to improve living conditions in orbit.

Also on Tuesday, the astronauts held a handover ceremony to transfer the key to the space station to the new crew, ahead of the Shenzhou-20 mission’s planned departure on the following day.

However, on Wednesday, the China Manned Space Agency announced that the return flight was postponed because of a suspected strike from small space debris on the spacecraft.

According to Xinhua, the historic meal was greeted joyfully by the astronauts, who cooked the marinated chicken wings in the oven for 28 minutes before also using it to cook some steak.

The introduction of the oven to the space kitchen is part of a broader effort to enhance the living conditions of astronauts in orbit, with researchers working to improve the variety, texture, flavour, colour and nutrition of space food, Xinhua reported.

  

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