China Focus: Seed of moon's first sprout: Chinese scientists' endeavor

Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-03 11:10:41|Editor: Yamei
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BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- An experiment that saw the first-ever plant sprouting on the moon last month was born in a natural disaster that devastated China's cotton-industry almost three decades ago.


He was on the team that developed the cotton seeds carried to the moon by China's Chang'e-4 probe, leading to the first-ever sprout on the moon.


After making the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3, China's Chang'e-4 mission pioneered the first mini biosphere experiment on the moon.

A canister on the Chang'e-4 lander contained seeds of cotton, rapeseed, potato and Arabidopsis, as well as fruit fly eggs and some yeast, to form a simple mini biosphere.








The economic losses nationwide exceeded 40 billion yuan (about 5.9 billion U.S. dollars).




