https://spc.jst.go.jp/news/240904/topic_5_05.html

China is building a distinctive space nutrition support system and accumulating strategic technologies for future deep space exploration missions.

The crew of the manned spacecraft “Shenzhou 18” enjoyed lotus seed paste “space mooncakes”, stewed lamb, potato and beef, stewed pork, and rice cakes at the Chinese space station during this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival. According to Li Yinghui of the China Astronaut Scientific Research and Training Center, China has made a breakthrough in key technologies for the industrialization of Chinese cuisine on the space station, introducing Chinese cuisine to the space dining table, allowing astronauts to enjoy home-cooked food even in the far reaches of space. China will further improve its nutritional adjustment technology and develop flight nutritional supply standards that address physiological problems of the human body caused by weightlessness, etc., to fully support astronauts’ healthy flight of more than 180 days. We will also make a breakthrough in key technologies for functional space food in orbit, developing functional space food with antioxidant, immune-boosting, fatigue recovery, and intestinal bacteria-regulating effects to help astronauts improve their adaptability.

Compared to a stay on the space station, a stay on the moon faces more severe challenges in terms of supplies, as costs increase and timeliness decreases as the distance from Earth increases. In order to accumulate strategic technologies for future deep space exploration missions, China is conducting key technology research on cooking in orbit and developing new types of food for extraterrestrial survival, to support future long-term extraterrestrial survival.