This is a follow up post from yesterday where I talked about how China was seriously looking into establishing a lunar base in the forseeable future and how this could be a start of a new era for us.

China recently had a successful lunar mission named Chang'e 4 which included landing a lander on the lunar surface as well as a rover scouting the far side of the Moon.

This is one of the many more missions planned that will study the feasibility of establishing a lunar base and conducting experiments for the same. Future missions will span from Chang'e 5 to Chang'e 8 lunar missions.

One of the most important things that we would need to achieve, if are to live on a Moon base for a prolonged period of time, is to gain the ability of growing plants on the Moon. And for the first time ever, Chang'e 4 managed to do the same.

Growing Plants On The Moon

Chang'e 4's lander has a mini-biosphere which contained cotton seeds and fruit fly eggs and it was sealed to protect it from the harsh conditions on the Moon.

China's space program recently said that the first cotton seeds had germinated and that it marks a historic moment as they are the first plants ever grown on the lunar surface. The plants even started providing oxygen for the fruit fly eggs.

But only a day after the announcement of the cotton seeds' sprouting, China's mission leads announced that the plants had perished. This was due to the 14 day night cycle that had started making it almost impossible for the plants to survive in temperatures as low as -170 degree Celsius.

Nonetheless, this was important first step as it provides important data that will lead us to one day be able to grow plants on the Moon and help the population there sustain on them. It's pieces like this that will make the Moon base a reality.


Image Credits: Chongqing University