Chinese lunar lander’s cotton seeds spring to life on far side of the moon
- Chang’e 4’s test load of six organisms beginning to flourish, experiment chiefs say
- Cotton, rapeseed and potato chosen as foundation for human settlement
Cotton seeds carried by China’s Chang’e 4 lunar lander have germinated on the far side of the moon, becoming the first plant shoots to grow there in what mission chiefs said was laying the foundation for a base on Earth’s only natural satellite.
A photo released on Tuesday by the China National Space Administration showed cotton shoots were growing well along with other germinated plants.
When Chang’e 4 landed on the far side of the moon on January 3, its cargo included an airtight container that carried bioscience test loads, including one called a “moon surface micro-ecological circle”.
Professor Liu Hanlong, head of the experiment, announced on Tuesday that the cotton seeds were the first to sprout, but the team did not give an exact time for that event.
Liu said that in addition to cotton, rapeseed and potato seeds had sprouted and were growing well as of Saturday.
Professor Xie Gengxin, the experiment’s chief designer, revealed that cotton, rapeseed, potato, arabidopsis – commonly known as rock cress – yeast and fruit flies were the six organisms chosen to go to the moon.