Chinese language Astronauts Cook dinner Up Wings and Steak in House Oven Aboard the Tiangong House Station

Six astronauts float inside a metallic tube touring 17,500 miles per hour across the planet, and the loudest sound heard is the press of a folding grill cage closing. On October 31, the Shenzhou-21 capsule delivered extra than simply three new crew members; it additionally delivered a 30-pound sizzling air oven, which is presently fixed to the wall of the Tiangong area station’s core module. 4 days later, the station smelled like Sunday barbecue.

Wu Fei, the flight engineer who used to check fighter jets over the Gobi, places on quilted mitts thick sufficient to deal with rocket exhaust. He threads six marinated hen wings onto a wire rack, flips the highest grid down like a fisherman closing a trout basket, and slides the entire thing right into a slot no larger than a microwave. A mushy chime begins counting down to twenty-eight minutes – nothing dramatic, only a mild countdown to the second when dinner’s prepared. However in fact, no gravity means no drips, no flare-ups, no smoke drifting to the ceiling – as a result of, let’s be trustworthy, there isn’t any ceiling to fret about. The followers whir alongside at 3,000 rpm, blowing air at a pleasant and toasty 190 levels in tight little loops till each wing is good and golden brown, identical to you’d see in a type of New Orleans take-out bins.

Throughout the node, Commander Chen Dong of the Shenzhou-20 crew is hanging out, ready for the incoming crew to reach. He’s obtained a second cage already loaded up with black-pepper steak cubes ready for them – simply one of many little methods he’s making the handover a bit extra particular. The 2 crews – the previous guard saying goodbye, and the brand new children on the block saying hi there – have 5 days to overlap, they usually’ve determined to spend one in every of them cooking up a storm within the earth ovens (which are literally working simply positive, as a result of sizzling air rises and funky air sinks… you get the thought).

Dinner really is sort of cooking itself, albeit in a fairly high-tech approach. As a result of in area, air simply sort of… sits there. Not precisely a fan of exercise, is it? NASA’s answer concerned a giant ol’ chrome steel sphere, however the Chinese language response is a little more low-key – all you want is 2 squirrel cage blowers and a ceramic heating aspect to get convection going. And if you happen to’re frightened concerning the air getting all greasy from cooking up a storm, don’t be – a triple-layer charcoal-and-HEPA filter is on the job, catching each final grease molecule earlier than it could mess with the air scrubbers protecting everybody alive.

Whenever you open the door, nothing does that “floats in every single place” factor, as a result of the cage retains the meat firmly in place. The juices keep contained in the meat, the Maillard response takes place (y’know, “tastes like barbecue” in fancy science phrases) at 190°C… and you understand what? Not a single drop of meals ever hits the ground. Till final week, Tiangong meals got here in good silver foil blocks. Tear, squeeze and attempt to herd the floating globs of meals with a straw. Dietary worth? High-notch. However the oven has simply modified the sport, by the best way – it could absorb uncooked wings and steak, all wrapped up in vacuum packs (that are by the way half the burden of pre-cooked pouches) and switch them into restaurant-quality meals in simply half-hour. Instantly, one flight can feed six individuals for ten complete days, with out ever operating out of recent dishes to strive (corn on the cob, sponge cake, complete fish… you get the thought).

Video from the Astronaut Heart of China reveals the timer going off, and Wu Fei opening the cage to disclose a bunch of completely cooked wings. Steam begins rising, after which simply… disappears into the filters. Chen Dong rips one of many wings in half over the intercom, and the pores and skin cracks satisfyingly. No sizzling sauce but – let’s be honest, logistics says that’s nonetheless on the following cargo run – however salt, pepper and the pure pleasure of a crunchy chunk all appear to be touring simply positive.

The engineers are testing the oven for 500 cycles – that’s sufficient for 4 complete crews. And take a look at the buttons on the menu – “candy potato”, “egg tart”… and two clean buttons with query marks subsequent to them. Somebody again on the bottom is clearly planning breakfast for actual.
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