. 24/7 Space News .
SPACE TRAVEL
Space-bred seeds offer valuable opportunities
by Staff Writers
Beijing (XNA) Jan 05, 2021

illustration only

China's historic 23-day Chang'e 5 mission has not only obtained precious rocks and soil samples from the moon, but has also brought back a group of seeds that traveled the furthest in the nation's agricultural and forestry histories.

More than 30 kinds of seeds, including rice, oats, alfalfa and orchid, were placed inside the multi-module Chang'e 5 spacecraft and orbited around the moon for about 15 days.

Scientists wished to check what would happen to the seeds after being exposed to a unique environment in lunar orbit and also hoped that they could develop beneficial mutations.

The seeds were chosen by multiple domestic organizations such as China Agricultural University, Beijing Forestry University, South China Agricultural University and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in a space-based mutation breeding program arranged by the Beijing-based China High-Tech Industrialization Association.

They were handed over to the participating organizations at a ceremony at the China National Space Administration on Dec 23.

Liu Jizhong, director of the administration's Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center, said that the program was the first time Chinese researchers conducted mutation breeding experiments in deep space and it offered good opportunities to scientists.

Professor Sun Yeqing from Dalian Maritime University in Liaoning province, who had her rice and Arabidopsis thaliana seeds onboard Chang'e 5, said that the mission gave a valuable opportunity for researchers to expose their seeds to a deep-space environment, and would enable them to deepen their studies on the effect of cosmic rays on the growth and evolution of life on Earth.

Space-based mutation breeding refers to the process of exposing seeds to forces such as microgravity, vacuums and cosmic radiation during a spaceflight and then sending them back to Earth for further observation and planting.

Researchers observe and examine several generations of plants grown from space-bred seeds and investigate their mutations-some are positive and desirable while others are negative. Those with positive mutations will be kept and analyzed, and will be introduced to farmers after their certification and approval.

Space breeding can generate mutations faster and more conveniently than ground-based experiments and can bring about some desirable traits that are otherwise hard to introduce.

Compared with natural or conventionally bred types of plants, space-developed versions with positive mutations usually feature higher nutritional content, greater annual yields, shorter growth periods and better resistance to diseases and insect pests, researchers explained.

China conducted its first space breeding experiment in 1987, using a satellite to carry seeds into space.

Since then, hundreds of kinds of seeds and seedlings have traveled with dozens of Chinese spaceships, including the Shenzhou manned spacecraft and recoverable satellites.

Space breeding has helped to produce more than 200 new types of mutated plants in China that have been approved for large-scale cultivation, ranging from grains to vegetables and fruits, said Liang Xiaohong, executive vice-chairman of the China High-Tech Industrialization Association.

The Chang'e 5 robotic mission was launched by a Long March 5 heavy-lift carrier rocket early on Nov 24 in Hainan province. The mission returned 1,731 grams of lunar rock and soil to Earth, marking a historic accomplishment 44 years after the last lunar substances were retrieved.

Source: Xinhua News Agency


Related Links
China National Space Agency
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


SPACE TRAVEL
Rice seeds carried to the moon and back sprout
Beijing (XNA) Jan 01, 2021
Some of the 40 grams of rice seeds that made a round trip to the moon have sprouted and are ready for follow-up studies, according to Science Daily on Monday. The rice seeds traveled to the moon and returned to Earth after 23 days of flight aboard China's Chang'e 5 lunar probe. This marks the first time China conducted a deep space induced mutation breeding experiment on rice. The seeds were handed over to their provider, the National Engineering Research Center of Plant Space Breeding of So ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

SPACE TRAVEL
Astronauts eat first radishes grown in space as 2020 ends

Rice seeds carried to the moon and back sprout

Marsquakes, water on other planets, asteroid hunting highlight 2020 in space

China to launch core module of space station in first half of 2021

SPACE TRAVEL
Russia plans more Proton-M launches in 2021

Elon Musk's SpaceX crewed launches led space events in 2020

China's new Long March-8 rocket makes first flight

SDA awards contract to SpaceX

SPACE TRAVEL
NASA video shows Perseverance rover's planned 'terror' landing on Mars

Fluvial Mapping of Mars

A Martian Roundtrip: NASA's Perseverance Rover Sample Tubes

How to get people from Earth to Mars and safely back again

SPACE TRAVEL
China's space achievements out of this world

China's Chang'e-5 orbiter embarks on new mission to gravitationally stable spot at L1

China plans to launch four manned spacecraft in next two years

Mission accomplished, now on to the next: China Daily editorial

SPACE TRAVEL
Record Year for FAA Commercial Space Activity

Voyager Space Holdings to buy all of Nanoracks

Lockheed Martin To Acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne

Russia lifts UK telecom satellites into orbit

SPACE TRAVEL
Scientists and philosopher team up, propose a new way to categorize minerals

Spontaneous robot dances highlight a new kind of order in active matter

New radiation vest technology protects astronauts, doctors

Order and disorder in crystalline ice explained

SPACE TRAVEL
Discovery boosts theory that life on Earth arose from RNA-DNA mix

Astronomers detect possible radio emission from exoplanet

Key building block for organic molecules discovered in meteorites

Device mimics life's first steps in outer space

SPACE TRAVEL
Dark Storm on Neptune reverses direction, possibly shedding a fragment

The 'Great' Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn

NASA's Juno Spacecraft Updates Quarter-Century Jupiter Mystery

Swedish space instrument participates in the search for life around Jupiter









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.