China is working to provide a wider range of food options for future deep space exploration missions, according to the second Space Medicine Forum held Saturday and Sunday in Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province.
During the just-concluded Mid-Autumn Festival, an important occasion for family reunions, the Shenzhou-18 crew aboard China’s orbiting space station enjoyed “space moon cakes” stuffed with lotus paste, as well as their favorite dishes such as spicy lamb and braised pork chops, which had been prepared in advance by the ground support team.
“We have developed technologies to bring Chinese cuisine to the ‘space table’ for astronauts,” said Li Yinghui, a researcher at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.
He added that China has advanced precision nutritional control technologies and has established precise standards for spaceflight food that can help astronauts solve physiological problems caused by weightlessness and radiation, and stay healthy during missions lasting more than 180 days.
“Various functional space foods with antioxidant effects, immune support, fatigue relief and gut microbiome regulation have been developed to enhance astronauts’ adaptability in orbit,” Li explained.
In preparation for future deep space missions, China is also working on technologies such as in-orbit cooking that can enable long-term living above Earth, said Zang Peng, another researcher at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.
