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China's moon lander sprouted a plant, but now it's dead
cnet ^ | January 15, 2019 2:28 PM PST | Amanda Kooser

Posted on 01/15/2019 3:46:21 PM PST by BenLurkin

The China National Space Agency's Chang'e 4 lander is exploring the mysterious side of our lunar neighbor that faces away from Earth. It also had some unusual guests on board and -- in a first for the moon -- one of them sprouted.

Xinhua announced the sprout Tuesday and posted a series of progress images covering the course of nine days and showing a seedling reaching up inside the habitat. The experiment didn't last long

A team from Chongqing University in China developed a sealed biosphere habitat stocked with seeds, fruit fly eggs and yeast that it hoped would create a mini-ecosystem. The cotton seed was the only one to sprout. The experiment also contained potato and oilseed rape seeds.

The experiment's chief designer, Xie Gengxin of Chongqing University, told Xinhua that life inside the canister would not survive the lander's first lunar night, which started on Sunday. The moon's nighttime period lasts for about two Earth weeks.

The temperature plummets during the lunar night. NASA says the moon's temperatures near its equator can dive to -238 Fahrenheit (-150 Celsius). Chang'e 4 is located in the Von Karman crater in the moon's southern hemisphere. The lander is in sleep mode during the lunar night.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnet.com ...


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS: china; moon; redchina; runarrander; themoon
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To: BenLurkin

They should have put a dish of fried rice and chow mein on the moon.


21 posted on 01/15/2019 6:25:24 PM PST by minnesota_bound
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To: minnesota_bound
They should have put a dish of fried rice and chow mein on the moon.

Yeah, but then two hours later you'd have to return to the Moon.

22 posted on 01/15/2019 6:26:23 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: BenLurkin

Was that bit in “The Martian” about the stranded astronaut being the first to grow crops on Mars thereby qualifying him as a colonist based on real law?

Perhaps that cotton seed sprout gave Chine legal ownership rights to the moon.


23 posted on 01/15/2019 6:46:47 PM PST by UnChained (Revelation 13:7 (Gun control is an absolute prerequisite for the slaughter that's coming)
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To: Sontagged

Ping, can’t wait to hear from you.


24 posted on 01/15/2019 9:30:14 PM PST by Darksheare (Those who support liberal "Republicans" summarily support every action by same.)
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To: fieldmarshaldj
Thanks fieldmarshaldj. They would have been able to keep the lights on if the danged rover just burned gasoline. See next message.

25 posted on 01/15/2019 11:42:51 PM PST by SunkenCiv (and btw -- https://www.gofundme.com/for-rotator-cuff-repair-surgery)
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Image and video hosting by TinyPic

26 posted on 01/15/2019 11:42:56 PM PST by SunkenCiv (and btw -- https://www.gofundme.com/for-rotator-cuff-repair-surgery)
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To: SunkenCiv

After telling a joke, I once asked my old g/f to give me a rimshot. She gave me a black eye.


27 posted on 01/15/2019 11:51:53 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj ("It's Slappin' Time !")
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To: BenLurkin

They need to produce bean sprouts for future explorers.


28 posted on 01/16/2019 12:58:35 PM PST by Jack Hammer
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