The Chinese astronaut’s “master chef†revealed that the food on the Shenzhou VII spacecraft is richer and more personalized, and that the astronauts can eat real-world cooking for the first time in space.
Chen Bin, director of the Astronaut Center's Space Food Nutrition Metabolism Research Center, said that compared with the Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6 flights, the Shenzhou 7 astronauts will be exposed to a low pressure environment. The food should not generate gas as much as possible, otherwise it will increase the purification burden for the cabin service. . Therefore, in the choice of ingredients, beans and milk that are relatively prone to produce gas are not suitable, and meat and protein are better. At the same time, due to the heavy physical exertion of the Shenqi task, foods emphasize high energy.
Chen Bin said that the food brought with the Shenzhou spacecraft has the following features.
- More variety. Main foods, non-staple foods, soups, beverages, spices, ready-to-eat products... On the Shenzhou spacecraft, astronauts have 7 categories and nearly 80 kinds of foods available. In addition to the same staple foods and non-staple foods as in the past, this time, an additional non-staple food packaged in canned soft cans was added, which is equivalent to cooking in Chinese food. The "Kung Pao Chicken" made with new methods is closer to the color and taste on the ground. In addition, astronauts can also eat shelled shrimp, freeze-dried fruit, and dozens of drinks.
- With more personalized. Condiment packs containing various ingredients are one of the highlights of Shenqi Food. In this way, Jing Haipeng from Shanxi Province will not suffer because he cannot eat vinegar.
- More reliable packaging. In the out-of-gauge mission, the orbital module is used as an air lock module for pressure relief, and the food placed in the orbital module is also subject to dramatic pressure changes. Once the bag leaks, the spilled food will harm astronauts and machinery and equipment. Therefore, Shenqi food has undergone shock shock and pressure relief experiments, and the packaging strength is even greater.
- Hot food is more delicious. After God’s first use of the food heater, the astronauts ate hot meals. However, Fei Junlong disclosed that since the emergency power source was used at the time, the rice made was a bit of a joke. Shenqi food heating will use the main power supply in the cabin, and it will never happen again.
According to Chen Bin, the Shenzhou spacecraft is equipped with 5 days of food, and each person's daily food is about 1.2 kilograms. Because of the stress of work, 3 astronauts need to change their diets, and it takes about half an hour to heat a meal for 1 person.
Foreign trials have shown that people's feelings of acidity, saltiness, etc. will generally be more dull after they go to heaven. Chen Bin said that in the mid- to long-term flight in the future, astronauts will have more time, and eating is also a means of psychological adjustment, so we will bring more abundant snacks. China's aerospace food researchers are embarking on the mission of bringing China's 56 ethnic foods to space.
In addition, the Shenzhou VII carried the Chinese medicine for the first time. Traditional Chinese medicine is a decoction called "Space Capsule," which contains a dozen Chinese herbs and has a significant effect on improving cardiovascular function. The Chinese medicine is made into pills in rice paper, and the astronauts can conveniently add water in space to strengthen the body's function and to better control space motion sickness.