Year of the Dragon: China sends Spring Festival gifts to Tiangong space station astronauts

The Tianzhou 7 has delivered fresh fruit and carefully chosen treats for Lunar New Year celebrations in low-Earth orbit

The cargo mission took just three hours to reach the station, where the three-man crew has been working since October

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A screen image captured at the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre of China’s cargo spacecraft Tianzhou 7 approaching the Tiangong space station on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 5:00pm, 18 Jan 2024

China’s Tianzhou 7 spacecraft has delivered fresh fruit and Spring Festival mystery gifts to the three astronauts in low-Earth orbit on board the Tiangong space station, along with scientific instruments and other supplies.

The cargo ship left the Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre in the southern island province of Hainan at 10.27pm Beijing time on Wednesday and docked three hours later at the Tiangong, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

Commander Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin had not yet entered the supply ship to start transferring the 5.6 tonne cargo to the space station – their home since October – at the time of the CMSA announcement.

In addition to the larger equipment needed to sustain the Tiangong’s operation and research tasks, the Tianzhou 7 carried more than 2 tonnes of daily necessities for the crew, according to state news agency Xinhua.

These included 90kg (200lb) of fruit, as well as special foods and other items for the crew’s celebration of the Lunar New Year, which begins on February 10.

“We have carefully prepared ‘blind boxes’ for the crew to open during the Chinese New Year, which will hopefully present a unique Year of the Dragon from our space station,” said Yin Rui, deputy commander of CMSA’s astronaut system.