Chinese astronauts have successfully grown salad and tomatoes on board the Tiangong space station, a significant step towards providing fresh produce for long-term space expeditions. The crew of the Chinese mission “Shenzhou-16” recently harvested four batches of salad planted in June, as well as tasty cherry tomatoes and green onions, which were planted in August. These efforts align with China’s plans to send astronauts on long-term missions to deep space, where reliance on Earth’s food supply would be impractical.
The vegetable-growing device on board the spacecraft is a crucial component of the environmental control system and life support. Its purpose is to test the viability of growing vegetables in space. Jan Renjze, a researcher from the Chinese Center for the training of astronauts, explained in an interview with CCTV that the plants onboard the Tiangong station serve multiple functions. They not only provide food but also contribute to the station’s life support system by absorbing carbon dioxide, producing oxygen through photosynthesis, and regenerating and purifying water.
To compare the effectiveness of space crops with those grown on Earth, the Chinese Center for Research and the preparation of astronauts has created an identical gardening system on Earth, where the same plants are cultivated. This allows for a comparative analysis to identify any differences in the crops.
China’s development of life support systems is crucial for their aspirations in deep space exploration, including manned missions to the moon and Mars. According to Yang, the system used on the Tiangong station can be applied to future missions to the moon and Mars as well.
These achievements highlight China’s ambitions in space research and signify a new chapter in space development. They also align with China’s plans to construct a moon base using lunar soil.