China made history by landing the Chang’e-4 spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, becoming the first mission to conduct a plant-growing experiment on the Moon. This mission carried a mini biosphere named Lunar Micro Ecosystem (LME) to the lunar surface. In the LME, conditions were similar to Earth’s, except for microgravity and cosmic radiation. It contained potato seeds, cotton seeds, rapeseed, yeast, and Arabidopsis thaliana (a common wildflower).
In this experiment conducted in 2019 by China, all plants except for the cotton seeds died quickly. New 3D reconstruction shows that the cotton plant sprouted two leaves and survived for about two weeks before succumbing to cold conditions. These findings indicate that the experiment was slightly more effective than previously thought.
Long-duration space missions, as desired by NASA and other space agencies, require learning how to grow plants in space. This is essential for astronauts to stay healthy on long space missions. Nutritional supplements and ready-to-eat foods can degrade over time, and radiation may accelerate this process. Therefore, the production of fresh vegetables will provide astronauts with more nutrients and make their meals more palatable. Additionally, if astronauts can grow plants on spacecraft, they will need to carry less ready-to-eat food. There are also psychological benefits to growing plants in space. It is known that fresh flowers and gardens create a pleasant atmosphere on the International Space Station and contribute to our psychological well-being on Earth and in space.
