--- title: "China Installs Oven in Space Station, Astronauts Use It to Enjoy Succulent Barbecue Feast" description: "Viral videos show Chinese astronauts enjoying a meal of roasted wings and steaks aboard the Tiangong space station." date: "2025-11-04" modified: "2025-11-04" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/space/china-tiangong-barbecue-wings" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" --- # China Installs Oven in Space Station, Astronauts Use It to Enjoy Succulent Barbecue Feast ![Viral videos show Chinese astronauts enjoying a meal of roasted wings and steaks aboard the Tiangong space station.]() *CNSA* For decades, if astronauts wanted to enjoy a nice Sunday roast, they'd have to make due with [congealed meat paste]() from a tube. Now that finally appears to be changing — at least according to video released by the Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA), [which is roughly]() China's equivalent to NASA. The footage shows astronauts aboard the Tiangong space station — the PRC's low earth orbit research platform, [first launched]() in 2021 — roasting half a dozen wings in a small oven onboard the craft. Both drums and flats are loaded onto a tray, which locks the floating bits of meat up in a cage-like apparatus so they don't drift off. The astronauts — or taikonauts, [to be technical]() — then load the tray into an oven, which looks more like a front-loading clothes dryer than a typical kitchen appliance. Regardless, the wings come out with a nice golden-brown color, which the flight commander — and orbital chef, seemingly — [Chen Dong]() quickly shares with his crew. https://www.reddit.com/r/spaceflight/comments/1onss6h/roasting_wings_and_beef_in_the_chinese_space/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button After devouring the bone-in wings, the team quickly loads the tray up with another batch, this time hunks of what appears to be hydrated beef. The clip went viral on Chinese-language social media, and soon spilled over into Western domains like Reddit and TikTok. "Wow, the International Space Station next door is still eating diarrhea-like stuff, while we've already evolved to eating kebabs!" one Chinese netizen [joked on RedNote](). This isn't the first time CNSA has sparked a flame in the vacuum of space. Back in 2023, some brave taikonauts aboard the Tiangong [lit a candle]() in a video demonstration, showing off fire's strange properties in zero-gravity (not to mention their confidence in the station's fire suppression systems.) While details on the space oven are scarce, Chinese media reports the module came aboard the [Shenzhou-21 mission](), which recently brought three astronauts to the station and broke the nation's speed record for a successful docking procedure. Like other Tiangong tours, this rotation will last six months. According to the mission's payload specialist and materials researcher Zhang Hongzhang, the trip will encompass a few more unorthodox experiments, including Chinese gardening, zero-gravity Tai-Chi, and space poetry. **More on the CNSA:** *[New Report Finds That China’s Space Program Is Rapidly Outstripping NASA]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()