Space Station Rice Tests Show Promise
Chinese astronauts have successfully grown rice seedlings (幼苗) onboard the Tiangong space station.
There have been other rice (experiment) in space. But the one being conducted on Tiangong is the first of (it) kind that aims to produce the complete life cycle of the plant, which begins with a seed and ends with mature plant producing new seeds.
China launched the Wentian space laboratory into orbit on July 24. The space lab, which weighs 23 metric tons and is 17.9 meters tall, is the country's (large) spacecraft to date. Onboard (be) eight experimental payloads, including the one for the rice experiment.
"We want to investigate how microgravity affects the plant flowering time on the molecular (分子的) level whether it is possible to use the microgravity environment (control) the related process," said Zheng Huiqiong, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Flowering is a (vital) important stage for plant reproductive development.
"If we want to land on and explore Mars, food (bring) from Earth is not enough for the astronauts' long journey and mission in space. We have to find a sustainable food source long-term space explorations," Zheng said.
