By: Yassmine ElSayed
CAIRO, Jan 16 (SEE) – Unprecedented acheivment by humans was
disclosed yesterday when a photo released by the China National Space administration
showed cotton shoots were growing well along with other germinated plants on
the moon.
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 said 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 know as rock cress –
yeast and fruit flies were the six organisms chosen to go to the moon.
“Learning about these plants’ growth in a low-gravity environment
would allow us to lay the foundation for our future establishment of space
base,” Liu said.
He said the container was equipped with a small but powerful
control system to keep the interior at around 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees
Fahrenheit).
Liu said the six components behaved as “producers, consumers and
decomposers” in the micro-ecosystem that arrived on the moon. The plants
produced oxygen and food by photosynthesis and sustained the fruit flies.
The canister was fully concealed from the extremes of temperature
and strong radiation on the moon. Chinese scientists designed tubes for the
canister to take natural Earth light to the moon for the plants to aid
photosynthesis.
The yeast, acting as a decomposition agent, processed waste from
the flies and the dead plants to create an additional food source for the
insects.
Liu said potatoes could be a main source food for space explorers,
cotton could be used for clothing, and rapeseed could be a source of oil.
Xie said the six species were chosen because they were small and
could grow in a confined environment. They were also hardy enough to withstand
some of the extreme conditions on the lunar surface.