China's Shenzhou-16 crew: Zhu Yangzhu (L), Jing Haipeng (C) and Gui Haichao. /China Manned Space Agency
With longer and more frequent missions, more holidays will coincide with astronauts' stay in orbit. Dragon Boat Festival falls on Thursday, and China's Shenzhou-16 crew is expected to celebrate the day with traditional activities such as eating sticky rice dumplings, known as zongzi.
Zongzi for taikonauts in space. /Innovation and Practice Center of Our Space
The "space zongzi" is flat rather than triangular, in order to ease storage and heating. To give taikonauts a real festival feeling, each zongzi is wrapped with green leaves, just like on the Earth.
According to the cargo list, the Shenzhou-16 crew will eat sweet-flavor zongzi.
The Dragon Boat Festival is the most traditional holiday that China's astronauts have spent in space so far.
China's Shenzhou-9 crew holds a board reading "Happy Dragon Boat Festival." /China Media Group
Dating back to June 23, 2012, China's Shenzhou-9 crew members – Jing Haipeng, Liu Wang and Liu Yang – sent their greetings from space in an Earth-to-space call. The crew held a board on which wrote "Happy Dragon Boat Festival" and wished Chinese people a happy holiday.
It was the first time Chinese astronauts sent holiday greetings from space.
China's Shenzhou-10 crew sends festival greetings in space on Dragon Boat Festival. /China Media Group
A year later, their successors, the Shenzhou-10 crew celebrated the next Dragon Boat Festival in space.
Taikonauts Nie Haisheng, Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping appeared in front of a camera in the re-entry module. "We wish all Chinese around the world a happy Dragon Boat Festival," the trio said, while Nie held a banner reading "Happy Dragon Boat Festival."
They then entered the orbital module to eat zongzi filled with sweetened bean paste.
Wang Yaping, one of the Shenzhou-10 crew, with zongzi. /China Media Group
In fact, taikonauts can enjoy other traditional food in corresponding festivals.
Last September, the Shenzhou-14 taikonauts became the first Chinese astronauts to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in space. They enjoyed a festival parcel pre-packed with mooncakes by the ground team, and tasted some lettuce they grew while in space.
The crew also sent their festival wishes back home via a video.
Liu Yang, one of the Shenzhou-14 crew, said in the video: "How many of us have ever dreamed of flying to the moon like Chang'e? Today, from outer space on a full moon night, we are sending our sincerest wishes and greetings to everyone on Earth."
The Shenzhou-15 taikonauts, who spent the Chinese New Year holiday, or Spring Festival, in space, wore new clothes, ate dumplings, made video calls with family and joined hundreds of millions of Chinese in watching the 2023 Spring Festival Gala, a national television staple of the celebrations.
As China's space station has entered into the stage of application and development, the mission crews will rotate in orbit on a regular basis. Therefore, it will be more common for taikonauts to celebrate festivals in space.