Space Journal: Entry 5

新华社太空特约记者  景海鹏

By Xinhua special correspondent Jing Haipeng

天宫二号，2016年11月4日

Aboard Tiangong-2, November 4, 2016

大家好，我是新华社太空特约记者、航天员景海鹏。11月7日是新华社建社85周年，神舟十一号飞行乘组在太空向全社的同志们问好，向全社的同志们致以最美好的祝愿和祝福！

Hello, everyone. I am the Xinhua space correspondent. The Shenzhou-11 crew would like to extend our greetings and best wishes to all Xinhua staff as the Xinhua News Agency marks its 85th founding anniversary on Nov. 7.

今天（11月4日）是进入天宫二号的第十七天，很多人关心我们在太空的伙食怎么样，今天就和大家讲一讲。

Today is Nov. 4, my 17th day onboard Tiangong-2. Since many people are curious about what we eat in space, today, I would like to tell you about this.

说到航天食品，大家可能会觉得特别单调，口感也不好，其实并不是这样。先说说我们今天吃的东西：早餐有粳米粥、椰蓉面包、五香鹌鹑蛋、酱香芥菜等，总共7种食品；中午有8种，包括什锦炒饭、肉丝炒面、土豆牛肉、紫菜蛋花汤等；晚上有8种，有绿豆炒面、牛肉米粉、虾仁鸡蛋、什锦罐头等；加餐有5种，包括麻辣猪肉、蟹黄蚕豆、香辣豆干等。怎么样，够丰富吧？

Speaking of space food, many think that it lacks variety and tastes bad. However, this is not true. Let me tell you what we had today. In the morning, we ate seven types of food, including porridge, coconut bread, quail eggs and pickles. We had eight choices at lunch, including mixed fried rice, fried noodles with meat, stewed beef with potato and nori and egg soup. There were eight dishes at dinner, including fried noodles with beans, rice noodles with beef, fried shrimp with egg as well as canned fruits. Besides, there were five kinds of snacks, such as spicy pork, fried beans and dried bean curd. That’s quite a lot choice, isn’t it?

不同飞行阶段，吃的东西也不同。刚入轨时，我们就会吃清淡些，这样更容易消化。目前在组合体飞行阶段，我们的食谱是五天一循环，包括主食、副食、即食、饮品、调味品、功能食品等6大类近100种食品。

We actually eat different kinds of food in different stages of flight. When just entering into orbit, we eat something light as it is easy for digestion. Currently, our daily menus repeat every five days, which cover six classes of food with nearly 100 kinds of dish, including staple food, side dishes, beverages and functional food.

我们不仅吃得丰富，甚至还可以“挑挑食”，在一个食品周期之内，可以同类替换。因为我之前上过两次太空，所以在前期制定食谱时，科研人员征求过我的意见。吃了这么多天，我觉得比前两次选择更多、味道更好。就是说，这次带上来的食品，本身就是我和陈冬爱吃的，所以根本不会感到单调。

We are even allowed to be “picky” about what we eat. Within a cycle of five days, we can change the order of dishes in the same class. Because I have been in space twice before, researchers asked my opinions when planning the menus. After all those days in space, I think the space food this time is more varied and better than my last two trips. That is to say, Chen Dong and I have brought the food what we like eating, so we don’t get bored at all.

对美食的追求是无止境的。陈冬兄弟是河南人，这次工作人员专门准备了一些河南面食。本次任务期间主食还包括八宝饭、什锦炒饭、玉米粥、米糕、面包等等。

The pursuit of delicacies is endless. Knowing Chen comes from Henan Province, the staff prepared some cooked wheat food popular in Henan for him. During this mission, we have had various kinds of staple food, such as rice pudding, mixed fried rice, maize porridge, rice cake and bread.

副食也很丰富，有黑椒牛柳、红烩猪排、叉烧鸡肉、什锦蔬菜等。与前几次相比，我们能吃到更多蔬菜了，如红椒裙带菜、牛蒡胡萝卜等，可以提高膳食纤维摄入量。我们还第一次在太空吃到了贡菜。

We also have black pepper beef, stewed pork chops, baked chicken, mixed vegetables and many other dishes. Compared with my last two missions, we have more vegetables, such as red pepper, edible seaweed, carrot and burdock, which provides us with more sources of dietary fiber.

这次我在太空过50岁生日，他们还给了我一个惊喜，准备了两个罐头装的奶酪蛋糕。虽然只有巴掌大小，但让我和陈冬感到很温暖。

The staff surprised us by preparing two canned cheese cakes to celebrate my 50th birthday in space. It was really sweet, even though the cake was just the size of my palm.

除了一日三餐，我们还有许多点心和夜宵来补充能量。这些主要是即食型肉类、饼干面包等烘焙食品、糖果乳制品等小零食，品种非常多。

In addition to the main three meals, we can have various kinds of dessert and snacks to replenish our energy, such as ready-to-eat meat, cookies, bread, candies and diary products.

北京第一实验小学的钟绎如小朋友在新华社客户端上提问，在太空怎么喝水，在太空住这么久带的水够喝吗？我想告诉他，在太空要用吸管喝水，防止水珠飘起来。我们不仅带够了水，还带了各种饮料。更了不起的是，这次在太空中，我们还能自己泡茶喝，这在前几次飞行中是没有的，其他国家的航天员也很少这样做。

Zhong Jiangru, a pupil from the Beijing First Experiment Primary School, asked a question on the Xinhua app: how do we drink water in space and do we have enough water for such a long trip? I want to tell him that we use straws to avoid water floating in space. We not only have enough water, but also different kinds of beverages. The most amazing part is that we even made tea, the first time in our space missions. Astronauts in other countries seldom do that.

茶叶包分为红茶和绿茶两种。每个茶包两克，装在特制的包装袋中，注水后完成复水，然后通过加热器进行加热。每个茶包可以泡四五次，我和陈冬基本天天都要泡茶喝。

饮品还有各类果汁和菜汤。这次汤的种类更多了，有紫菜汤、菠菜汤、裙带菜汤、西红柿蛋花汤、野菌芙蓉汤等。另外，还有防止产生油腻感的去腻茶和暖胃的“温胃饮”等功能食品。

We have juice too. There are many varieties of soup, including nori, spinach, edible seaweed, tomato, egg as well as mushroom. Besides, we are also provided with a special beverage that is better for the stomach.

前几次调味品以咸辣为主，这次我们甜酸咸辣样样都有。甜味的就是蜂蜜，装在管里，需要抹在面包上时再挤出来。工作人员还把我老家山西的陈醋用小袋子分装好，带上了太空，这是我第一次在太空吃到家乡的醋。调味品的种类也非常多，有豆瓣酱、麻辣酱、甜辣酱、香辣酱等。

In past missions, condiments were mainly salty and spicy. However, this time we have something sweet and sour. Honey is filled in tubes, which is convenient for us to squeeze and put on bread. Small bags of vinegar from Shanxi, which is my home province, were brought into space too. It is my first time to have a taste of the vinegar from my home in space. And there are different kinds of sauces, including bean sauce, spicy sauce and sweet chili sauce.

感谢大家对我们的关心。我们的太空之旅已经过半，后续发现有趣的东西，再和你们分享。

Thank all of you for caring about us. Less than half of the journey is left. We will share more with you when we find something new and fun on the rest of the mission.