China upgrades Tiangong space station kitchen with smart appliances and expanded menu

During the inaugural aerospace medicine engineering conference in Tianjin, Liu Weibo announced that the China Astronaut Research and Training Centre, together with several private firms, has modernised the Tiangong space station’s kitchen. New intelligent appliances such as a water-reclamation dispenser, a low-power microwave that prevents leakage, and the world’s first hot-air baking oven enable crew to drink safe water and prepare hot meals within twenty minutes, including baked chicken wings, steak and cake.

The food inventory has grown to almost 200 items, extending the menu cycle to ten days and allowing fresh vegetables, nuts, meat, and even yoghurt fermentation in microgravity. Liu said the enhancements raise life-support standards, improving the variety, quality and nutritional value of space food. The upgrades come as one Shenzhou-23 astronaut prepares for a planned one-year stay, while China advances toward a crewed lunar landing by 2030.