Who says you can't be a farmer in space?
Space stations may soon become not only outposts of science, but also vegetable gardens in orbit. As reported by Space.com The crew of the Chinese Shenzhou-16 mission successfully grew lettuce and tomatoes on board the Tiangong space Station, bringing humanity closer to the possibility of eating fresh food on long-term space expeditions.
The astronauts, who returned to Earth after several months in space, collected four batches of lettuce planted in June, as well as delicious cherry tomatoes and green onions that were planted later in August. These efforts, similar to NASA projects, are a key element of China's push to send its astronauts on multi-year missions to deep space, where it will be impossible to rely on food supplies from Earth.
"This machine for growing vegetables is an important part of the environmental control and life support system. It is used in space to test relevant technologies," Yang Renjie, a researcher at the Chinese Astronaut Training Center, told state-run CCTV television.
In addition to producing food, the plants on board the spacecraft play a role in maintaining the Tiangong Station's life support system, helping to absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen through photosynthesis, as well as regenerate and purify water.
To compare the growth efficiency of space crops with Earth's, the Chinese Center for Research and Training of Astronauts has created an identical gardening system, where the same plants are grown as in orbit. This allows you to conduct a comparative analysis and identify any differences in yields.
The development of such life support systems is crucial for China, which seeks not only deep space missions, but also to establish bases on the surface of the moon and, possibly, in the future, to land astronauts on Mars.
"The system can be applied in the field of deep space exploration, including our manned missions to the Moon and Mars," Yang continues.
These achievements open a new chapter in space exploration and highlight China's ambitions in space exploration, including plans to build a base on the Moon using lunar soil.
Space stations may soon become not only outposts of science, but also vegetable gardens in orbit. As reported by Space.com The crew of the Chinese Shenzhou-16 mission successfully grew lettuce and tomatoes on board the Tiangong space Station, bringing humanity closer to the possibility of eating fresh food on long-term space expeditions.
The astronauts, who returned to Earth after several months in space, collected four batches of lettuce planted in June, as well as delicious cherry tomatoes and green onions that were planted later in August. These efforts, similar to NASA projects, are a key element of China's push to send its astronauts on multi-year missions to deep space, where it will be impossible to rely on food supplies from Earth.
"This machine for growing vegetables is an important part of the environmental control and life support system. It is used in space to test relevant technologies," Yang Renjie, a researcher at the Chinese Astronaut Training Center, told state-run CCTV television.
In addition to producing food, the plants on board the spacecraft play a role in maintaining the Tiangong Station's life support system, helping to absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen through photosynthesis, as well as regenerate and purify water.
To compare the growth efficiency of space crops with Earth's, the Chinese Center for Research and Training of Astronauts has created an identical gardening system, where the same plants are grown as in orbit. This allows you to conduct a comparative analysis and identify any differences in yields.
The development of such life support systems is crucial for China, which seeks not only deep space missions, but also to establish bases on the surface of the moon and, possibly, in the future, to land astronauts on Mars.
"The system can be applied in the field of deep space exploration, including our manned missions to the Moon and Mars," Yang continues.
These achievements open a new chapter in space exploration and highlight China's ambitions in space exploration, including plans to build a base on the Moon using lunar soil.
