China space mission ‘grows cotton on the Moon’
16/01/2019
The Chang’e 4 mission touched down on January 3. It is the first mission to land and explore the Moon’s far side, which faces away from Earth.
The primary purpose of this mission is to analyse the geology of this previously unexplored region, but the craft was also carrying among its cargo soil containing cotton and potato seeds, yeast and fruit fly eggs.
The plants are in a sealed container on board the lander module. The aim is for the crops to form an artificial, self-sustaining environment.
On January 15, the China National Space Administration announced that the cotton seeds had sprouted. Plants have been grown on the International Space Station, but never of the Moon.
Local media quoted Professor Xie Gengxin, the experiment’s chief designer, as saying that observing the growth of these plans in the Moon’s low-gravity environment would “lay the foundation for our establishment of a space base”.
He added that the cotton could eventually be used to clothing while the potatoes could serve as a food source for astronauts.
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