Beijing: China is planning to send seeds of potato, a flowering plant and silkworm eggs with its Chang'e-4 lunar probe later this year to conduct the first biological experiment on the lifeless Moon.
The probe will carry a tin containing seeds of potato and arabidopsis, a small flowering plant related to cabbage and mustard, and probably some silkworm eggs to conduct the first biological experiment on the Moon, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.
The "lunar mini biosphere" experiment was designed by 28 Chinese universities, led by southwest China's Chongqing University, a conference on scientific and technological innovation of Chongqing Municipality has heard. The cylindrical tin, made from special aluminium alloy materials, is 18 cm tall, with a diameter of 16 cm, a net volume of 0.8 liters and a weight of 3 kilogrammes.
The tin will also contain water, a nutrient solution, air and equipment such as a small camera and data transmission system. Researchers hope the seeds will grow to blossom on the Moon, with the process captured on camera and transmitted to Earth.
Although astronauts have cultivated plants on the International Space Station, and rice and arabidopsis were grown on China's Tiangong-2 space lab, those experiments were conducted in low-Earth orbit, at an altitude of about 400 kms.