More than 100 kinds of food are available to the three Chinese astronauts during their three-month stay inside under-construction space station’s core module, Tianhe, which they entered on Thursday.
Launched on Shenzhou-12, the three astronauts, Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo entered Tianhe after a six-and-half hour journey, marking the primary time Chinese nationals will have their own space in earth’s lower orbit.
With a diameter of 4.2m, Tianhe is more spacious than a train or subway carriage, providing astronauts with six zones for work, sleep, sanitation, dining, healthcare and exercise, Chinese state media said.
Much scientific thought went behind the diet of the astronauts, which kept in mind not only their health but also their taste and dietary preferences.
The dry food rations were delivered to the core module last month within the cargo spacecraft, Tianzhou-2, which carried 160 parcels weighing 6.8 tonnes.
The cargo spacecraft even carried a “super refrigerator” to make sure that the food packages remained fresh for months.
Included within the dry food packages for the astronauts were 100 types of dishes, both staple and non-staple foods besides meat and vegetable combinations.
“Space food, including many classic Chinese cuisines, has been delivered by the cargo freighter Tianzhou-2. From staple foods to non-staples, from meat to vegetables, the menu design is of top quality and appetising for astronauts. Famous stir-fried Chinese dishes like shredded pork with aioli and Kung Pao chicken are both on the menu,” the press agency Xinhua said.
“There are even Sichuan dishes, fish-flavoured pork shreds…(and) frozen dessert and desserts,” the paper.cn said during a report.
The three also will have the choice to settle on from instant food, beverages, condiments, and functional foods.
The food available within the “space canteen” has been developed and produced in strict accordance with the aerospace food standards, the report said.
Not only is balanced nutrition critical in what the astronauts eat, what's also equally important is to form eating convenient.
The food available to them are often eaten in one bite: the things are small, solid, bone-less, and completely edible without residues to scale back meal waste the maximum amount as possible.
What’s more, lest the astronauts get tired of eating an equivalent dishes a day , the meals are designed in such how to make sure that an equivalent dish isn't repeated in days.
“The area is provided with a food heating device, refrigerator, water dispenser and folding table. within the exercise area, the treadmill and spin bike provide them options to take care of physical health,” the Xinhua report said.
“The waste and human excrement are going to be stored in Tianzhou-2, which can eventually depart from orbit and spend on re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere”.
