Seeds taken to Moon by China's Chang'e-4 mission have sprouted
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Chinese media have released this image which reportedly shows a seed sprouting underneath a protective cover
Seeds have sprouted on the Moon for the very first time!
On 3 January, China made history when it landed the first spacecraft on the far side of the Moon.
The probe took some cotton and potato seeds with it to see if scientists could get them to grow - and the China National Space Administration has now confirmed that the cotton seeds have indeed sprouted!
They began growing when the control centre back on Earth sent a command to the probe telling it to water the seeds.
The seeds have been grown on board the Chang'e-4 spacecraft
It's the first time that any biological matter has grown on the Moon, which is a really important milestone for scientists looking at long-term space exploration.
It means there could be a chance that, at some point in the future, astronauts could grow their own food in space - although this would be a while off yet!
Seeds have grown on the International Space Station before, but never on the Moon.
The Chang'e-4 mission isn't just growing seeds, though. It will be closely studying the Moon's geology too.
- Published21 January 2019
- Published11 January 2019
