China will send mini-ecosystem to the Moon in 2018

In 2018 China will send to the Moon lander Chang'E 4. Probe will land in the von Karman crater area (not to confuse with von Karman crater on Mars), on the far side of the Moon. This is impact crater with diameter of the external rim of 180 km. The interior of Von Kármán has been subjected to flooding by lava flows after the original crater formed, leaving the southern portion of the floor nearly flat. If successful, this will be the first landing on the far side of the Moon: nor Soviet, nor US landers never landed there.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Image: Dr. Phil Stooke, Univ. of Western Ontario

Chang'E -4 probe is redesigned Chang'E-3 which landed on the visible side of the Moon in 2013 with new scientifical payload.

Image: National Astronomy Observatory of China - Chang'E-3 on the Moon surface, imaged from the rover

One of multiple tasks onboard the lander will be "mini-ecosysteme on the Moon's surface" - experiment, led by researchers with Chongqing University, reports the Chongqing Morning Post. All ecosysteme will be contained in an 18 x 16 cm cylinder.

Image: Sina Weibo

Potato seeds and the larvae of insects, including the silkworm, will be inside the sealed cylinder with artificial lights. The goal is to determine whether the potatoes can grow on the moon, and whether the insects can survive. Scientists will observe all stages of the experiment with cameras, installed inside. Silkworms will produce CO2 and growing potato - oxygen as result of the photosynthesis.