CHINA'S MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT
China Change'e 4 Mission
First time any biological matter has grow on the Moon, and is being seen as a significant step towards long-term space exploration.
Plants have been grow on the International Space Station before but never on the Moon.
The ability to grow plants on the Moon will be integral for long-term space missions, like a trip to Mars which would take about two-and-a-half years.
WHY CAN'T WE GROW PLANTS ON MOON?
Vacuum of space, massive doses of radiation irradiating the surface, no bacteria or available nutrients in the soil. So it is not possible to grow plants on the lunar soil.
The radiation dosage for a year on the moon is between 110 mSv(millisievert) and 380 mSv. On Earth, tht dosage is 2.4 mSv, or higher, depending on where you are exactly.
SOME IDEAS FOR FUTURE LUNAR PLANTATION
CHINA SUCCESSFULLY SPROUTS FIRST SEED ON THE MOON
When its chang'e 4 spacecraft touched down on the lunar surface it was carrying an airtight container, worth an estimated $1.8 million, designed for growing crops in shocking conditions.
AIRTIGHT CONTAINER
The 18 cm-high aluminium alloy cylinder - called a moon surface micro-ecological circle - also contains silkworm eggs, fruit flies and seeds for potatoes, cress and rapeseed, among others.
China's National Space Administration released a picture of the sprouting cotton seeds.
SPROUTING COTTON SEEDS ON MOON
First human history: A cotton brought to the moon by China's Chang'e 4 probe has sprouted, the latest test photo has show, marking the completion of human kind's first biological experiment on the moon
NOTES:-
Professor Liu Hanlong of Chongqing University, who led the research, said that rapeseed and potato seeds had also germinated, but that the cotton seeds were the first to sprout, the South China Morning Post reported.
While plants like zinnias and leaf vegetables have been grow in space on the International Space Station, none had ever been grow on the moon.
WILL THE MOON BE CONTAMINATED
They also have to control the humidity and nutrients. Some have raised the question of weather the experiment risks "contaminating" the Moon with biological material, but scientists generally think this is of little concern.
And it's worth reiterating that there are already containers of human waste on the Moon left behind by the Apollo astronauts.
