Chinese scientists say they have grown the first plants on the moon as part of the country's lunar mission.
Pictures sent back Jan. 12 showed plant shoots growing well nine days after the experiment was initiated, Chongqing University, which led the biological project, said in a briefing Tuesday. The first green leaf comes from cotton seeds, according to the scientists.
"The experiment has cultivated the first plant sprout on the lifeless moon," Professor Xie Gengxin, dean of Chongqing University's Institute of Advanced Technology and chief designer of the experiment said.
The biopsy test load carried cotton, canola, potato, Arabidopsis, yeast and fruit fly. Crops were exposed to high vacuum, temperature differences, and strong radiation.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Chinese Scientists Find Traces Of Water In Lunar Soil Brought By Change-5 Mission Pakistan Launches First Lunar Mission On China's Wings In A First, China To Launch Probe To Collect Samples From Far Side Of Moon Indian-Origin Family, On Way To Daughter's College, Killed In US Car Crash Woman Doctor Assaulted By Drunk Patient, Attendants At Mumbai Hospital BJP Leader, 2 Doctors Summoned Over 'Fake News' On Kolkata Rape-Murder Woman Doctor Assaulted By Drunk Patient, Attendants At Mumbai Hospital "We Are India's No 1...": IAS Coaching Centre Fined For "Misleading" Ad UK Girl Discovers Dinosaur Footprints On Beach Walk: "Cool And Exciting" Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.