The Chinese space experiment to help astronauts grow food in low gravity

Name: China grows rice, other plants in space as part of Tiangong station experiment
Uploaded: 2022-09-01T08:00:22.000Z
Duration: 1 min 25 s
Description: China grows rice, other plants in space as part of Tiangong station experiment

One month after launch, plants on the Tiangong’s lab module are thriving, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences

If the crew’s rice harvest is successful, it will be the first time for the grain to survive ‘from seed to seed’ under microgravity, scientist says

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Seeds launched into space on China’s Wentian lab module have survived and sprouted under low gravity conditions. Photo: Weibo

Zhang Tong

Published: 4:00pm, 1 Sep 2022

Astronauts on China’s Tiangong space station are flexing their green thumbs as part of an experiment that researchers hope will shed light on the effects of low gravity on plant growth.

Seeds carried on the space station’s Wentian lab module have sprouted and are in good condition, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said on Monday.

A photo from Monday shows Arabidopsis thaliana plants, also known as thale cress, on the space station have sprouted leaves while long-grain rice plants have reached a height of about 30cm (11.8 inches).

The seeds were sent into space aboard the Wentian module, which launched and docked with the space station’s main module on July 24. Days later, crew members of the Shenzhou 14 mission began setting up the experiment to see how the plants would fare in space.

“It is hoped that this experiment will be the first in the world to achieve rice cultivation ‘from seed to seed’ under microgravity in space,” said Zheng Huiqiong, a researcher at the CAS Centre for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences.

In late September, the astronauts will harvest seeds and collect samples of the plants, Zhao Liping, chief designer of the Wentian module, said in a television interview.

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China grows rice, other plants in space as part of Tiangong station experiment

For more than two decades, Zheng’s research team has studied how changes in gravity affect plant growth. They conducted a series of experiments on the Shenzhou 4, Shenzhou 8 and Tiangong-2 missions.

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