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Do you know the cottonseed that sprouted on the far side of the moon in a sealed container on board a Chinese probe? Well, it was once. Xinhua State News Agency reported on Tuesday (15) that "the experiment is over", which means that the plant has had little life on the Earth satellite.
The Chinese mission Chang & # 39; e 4 was the first. to arrive on the dark side of the moon and also pioneer in the germination of any kind of biological material, the astronauts have already realized on the International Space Station, but not on any other surface than the Earth.
"We have never had any experience," said Xie Gengxin, chief designer of the experiment and researcher at Chongqing University.
The mini-sphere made in China contained, in addition to cotton, seeds. of potatoes and Arabidopsis, of fruit fly eggs and yeasts. Only cottonseed sprouted, which was an unprecedented event. But Xie Gengxin explained why the other species had been sent to the moon.
The test with potatoes was based on the logic that they could be an essential source of food for future space travelers – the film (and the book) "Lost in Mars" supports this thesis. Already arabidopsis are small plants with a period of rapid growth. Xie also argued that yeast would regulate carbon dioxide and oxygen in the mini biosphere, while fruit flies would consume the process of plant photosynthesis.
All elements were dormant for two months. the last checks on Earth until the probe arrives on the dark side of the moon after 20 days of space travel. After landing on January 3rd, the mission's leaders ordered the spacecraft to irrigate the plants to begin to develop.
Last Sunday, the mission probe Chang & # 39; e 4 entered "sleep mode", which will last until the end of the lunar night, when the temperature can reach -170 ° C because of this procedure, the experiment with plants was closed
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