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Chinese astronauts have cultivated rice plants in space from seeds

More and more science experiments are taking shape in the modules of China’s under-construction space station as it nears completion. In the lab in zero gravity, Taikonauts have now successfully grown rice plants from seeds.

The Thale cress and rice seeds were in the experiment cabin since July of this year, according to information provided by the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) regarding a life science study. The Thale cress and rice growing trials on China’s Wentian lab module, according to scientists, are going well.

The Thales cress has four leaves, but the long-stem rice seeds have reached a height of 30 centimetres. The Thale cress, according to CGTN, is a representative sample of many green-leaf vegetables such as rapeseed, cabbage and brussels sprouts.

Taikonauts are doing life science research to better understand how plants respond to radiation in space. The two projects, according to Zheng Huiqiong, a researcher at the CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, will study each plant’s life cycle in space and investigate how to grow plants more effectively in a microgravity environment.

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