Las rice seedlings cultivated by the astronauts chinos on the Tiangong space station “they are growing very well”according to experts quoted today by the China Daily newspaper, who explain that these experiments will be key to feed the crews of future long space missions.
The astronauts began the cultivation on July 29, as part of an experiment that aims to reproduce for the first time the complete life cycle of the plant: from a seed to a mature plant that produces new seeds.
The rice sprouts have reached “a height of 30 centimeters”explained Zheng Huiqiong, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who explained that the purpose of the experiment is “to investigate how microgravity can affect plant flowering time at the molecular level and whether it is possible to use the microgravity environment to control the processes.
If you want to “explore and reach Mars”, the food that will be provided to the astronauts before their departure “will not be enough”, warns Zheng, who pointed out the “need to find a sustainable food source for long space explorations“.
Since the 1980s, the Asian country has been researching rice cultivation in outer space, where the cereal has to face challenges such as microgravity, lack of air and cosmic rays.
The experiment is being carried out at the Wentian Space Laboratory, which was docked with the Tianhe Core Module of Tiangong Station on July 24.
The astronauts will continue to analyze the development of plants and, if they manage to complete the entire life cycle, seeds produced in space will be brought back to Earth for further research.
The under-construction Tiangong station, whose name means “Heavenly Palace” in Mandarin, will weigh about 70 tons and is expected to operate for about 15 years while orbiting about 400 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
Once completed, missions in which astronauts spend several months in the station.
By 2024, it is likely to become the world’s only space station if the International Space Station, a US-led initiative to which China is barred due to military ties to its space program, is withdrawn that year as it stands. as planned.
In recent years, the Chinese space program has managed to land the Chang’e 4 probe on the far side of the Moon – the first time it has been achieved – and reach Mars for the first time, becoming the third country – after the United States and the former Soviet Union – to land.