Astronauts aboard China's space station have, for the first time, used an onboard oven to bake food in orbit, marking a significant upgrade to the "space kitchen."
The hot air oven, delivered by the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft, has allowed crew members of the Shenzhou-20 and Shenzhou-21 missions to enjoy freshly baked dishes like chicken wings and steak. This achievement represents a major step forward from simple reheating to actual cooking and baking in China's space program.
"We used high-temperature catalysis and multi-layer filtration technologies to enable smoke-free baking. Given the special conditions in orbit, we have made sure that the hot air oven is completely reliable and safe. Every part of the oven astronauts may touch remains cool so as to prevent burns," said Xuan Yong, a researcher at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.
"We have built the range hood inside the oven, so it's a hot-air oven with built-in purification. It's the first-ever oven in the world that can actually be used aboard a space station," said Liu Weibo, deputy chief designer of astronaut system with China Astronaut Research and Training Center.
Engineers have also equipped the oven with a residue collector, heating mesh, baking tray, and rotating basket, solving the problem of food floating in zero gravity. They have also increased the maximum heating temperature from 100 to 190 degrees Celsius.
"By raising the temperature to 190 degrees Celsius, astronauts can now really cook in orbit. Previous food heating is purely physical warming, but this is actual cooking, with chemical reactions included. The food can now come out golden and crispy," said Liu.
The oven also has preset programs for different ingredients, such as corn, chicken wings, and cake.
"They can bake cakes, roast peanuts, or grill meat, and it's really delicious. This means astronauts can enjoy special meals on weekends, birthdays, or holidays. It greatly helps to enrich their dining experience and improves overall living conditions in orbit," Liu said.
Specially designed hot air oven allows Chinese astronauts to cook in orbit
The 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) opened on Monday in Barcelona, Spain, under the theme "The IQ Era", with a focus on intelligent infrastructure, AI connectivity and integration, enterprise-level AI applications, AI ecosystem collaboration, inclusive technology and innovation-driven transformation.
Marking the 20th anniversary of the event's presence in Barcelona, this year's MWC has drawn around 2,900 exhibitors, sponsors and partners.
More than 1,200 speakers are taking part in discussions, with country and regional pavilions and technology-themed exhibition areas representing over 100 countries and regions.
Participants include global mobile network operators, device manufacturers and technology firms.
Amid the bustling exhibition halls, attendees highlighted the pervasive impact of artificial intelligence on both personal routines and professional workflows.
"The topic I think that really impressed is the AI influence because I use it every day," said a visitor.
"AI is, I mean, more and more getting into daily life for everybody. AI is reshaping the way people work. It increases productivity," said another visitor.
Network capabilities centering around AI applications also dominated discussions, where many companies unveiled their visions for 6G technology.
"This new spectrum band will adopt ultra-massive antenna arrays and energy-efficient, lightweight engineering solutions to meet operators' needs, bridging the current 5G era and the coming 6G," said Zhao Dong, vice president of Huawei's wireless networking product line and the company's chief marketing officer.
A China Pavilion has been set up at the congress for the first time, featuring major Chinese companies including China Mobile, China Unicom, Huawei, ZTE, Honor and Xiaomi, showcasing their latest advancements in mobile communications and AI technologies.
Industry insiders believe that the collective appearance of Chinese enterprises is injecting new impetus for competition and cooperation into the global communication industry.
I'm seeing that Chinese company has made a lot of progress and they are competing very well in every technology field, especially in AI. And we've seen a lot of AI platforms, AI generative devices," said Mohamed Ben Amor, secretary-general of the Arab ICT Organization.
MWC 2026 opens in Barcelona, spotlighting 'The IQ Era'
