Astronaut Shows Upgraded Space Kitchen, Meal Option Choices | China Space Station
China's Tiangong Space Station has upgraded its in-orbit kitchen, featuring advanced heating equipment and diversified meal options, Lai Ka-ying, a payload specialist for the Shenzhou-23 spaceflight mission, revealed during a science class for Hong Kong and Macao students on Wednesday, September 9, 2026.
Hundreds of students from the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions (SARs) gathered at Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College in the HK SAR for the special "Tiangong Class".
During the space lecture, Lai delivered a dedicated introduction to the students covering the crew's daily orbital meals and upgraded food-heating tools aboard the space station.
"Ground technical personnel have prepared a diverse, nutritionally balanced diet for us. The menu includes staple foods, such as rice, noodles and bread, as well as dozens of specialty dishes ranging from Braised Pork in Brown Sauce and 'Fotiaoqiang' (Buddha Jumps Over the Wall) to Kung Pao Chicken and Black Pepper Beef. We also have a variety of dehydrated vegetables that turn fresh and tasty once rehydrated. In addition, we can also make cheese in the space station, so our orbital food selection is extremely varied," she said.
Lai also explained the heating facilities that enable astronauts to enjoy freshly heated meals in the microgravity environment.
"The space station is equipped with two heating devices. The lower microwave heating device works on the same principle as household microwaves and is mainly used for heating staple foods like rice. The upper hot-air heating device adopts 360-degree circulating hot air technology, allowing astronauts to have hot meals in less than half an hour. A newly added hot-air baking machine marks the biggest highlight of the upgraded space kitchen. The space station is now equipped with a hot-air baking machine. It has solved the challenge of oil fume purification in confined spaces and can raise the maximum heating temperature to 190 degrees Celsius. This allows us to bake chicken wings, pumpkins and cakes right in the space station," she explained.
Zhu Yangzhu 朱杨柱, Commander & Flight Engineer (second spaceflight)
Zhang Zhiyuan 张志远, Pilot (first spaceflight)
Duration: 1 minute, 45 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 10, 2026
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