Fly me to the mooncakes
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-10-12 14:26

Two Chinese astronauts rocketed into orbit on Wednesday and promptly helped themselves to pineapple-filled mooncakes for breakfast, state television said.

The traditional heavy pastries should be to the liking of Fei Junlong, who was said to have a sweet tooth, while his partner, Nie Haisheng, apparently preferred spicier fare.

The astronauts' Shenzhou VI spacecraft has been packed with a wide range of rations, from green vegetables and braised bamboo shoots to rice and bean congee, that can be easily rehydrated and then heated in a machine that looks more like a toaster.

Food-filled cans and plastic containers have been designed to fit snugly into segmented, cafeteria-style trays that have quaint pictures of fruit in one corner and adjustable belts underneath for easy use in zero gravity.

Another machine resembling a hair dryer has been installed to suck up any uneaten food morsels from containers to eliminate the possibility of them floating loose about the capsule, state television said.

The astronauts would wash down their meals with extremely pure water taken from 1,700 metres (5,577 feet) underground, Xinhua news agency said.

And an "excrement-collecting device" will also be used for the first time, it added.