A group of three Chinese astronauts working on the 17th mission of the Shenzhou spacecraft have just harvested the first batch of successfully grown vegetables using a new generation plant growing structure in the space environment developed by the country. and upgrade.
Previously, first-generation “space garden” structures were used on missions such as Shenzhou 11 in 2016 and Shenzhou 14 in 2022. At that time, astronauts could harvest lettuce, wheat, rice and vegetables at Thien Cung space station. However, with the second generation “space garden”, the designs of this special plant growing system have been significantly upgraded to reach the ambition of being able to replicate the scale of cultivation in space in the near future. .
New technology
This group of astronauts are the same people who boarded the Shenzhou spacecraft to work at China’s Thien Cung space station on October 26 on the ship’s 17th mission. The vegetables they just harvested were grown in a “space garden”, the name for a new generation of equipment system to help grow vegetables in space developed by researchers at China’s Astronaut Research and Training Center. National design.
The “space garden” includes detachable parts and an open structure that makes it easy to operate and adjust temperature, humidity, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels to create the most ideal environment for plants to grow. develop in space. With that open structure, astronauts can also flexibly take care of their vegetable garden at any time, according to their needs. Reuters.
Deployed at Tiangong station since the Shenzhou-16 mission, the “space garden” is installed in reverse. Plants will also be watered in the opposite direction from the ground watering direction. This planting structure is a newly designed second-generation recyclable device that delivers water and nutrients directly to plant roots without the need for a substrate, which is needed. to create chemical reactions for plants.
The most important and notable feature of the second generation “space garden” system is its ability to support subsequent multiple planting cycles. In other words, it will establish the conditions for future larger-scale cultivation in space. Chinese scientists are also developing new farming techniques to reduce waste and increase recycling rates.
Ambition to conquer the universe
On the Shenzhou-16 mission, the fifth mission to send people to China’s space station from 2021, astronauts also harvested some lettuce in June 2022, some cherry tomatoes and onions. in August 2022. Efforts to research and find ways to grow vegetables in space are part of China’s ambitious space exploration program.
To do this, the China Astronaut Research and Training Center set up simulated environments of space on the ground, allowing the research team to compare results and analyze more accurately. The differences between growing vegetables in space and on the ground.
In an interview with CCTV In October 2023, researcher Yang Renze of the China Astronaut Research and Training Center said that the equipment system used to grow vegetables is an important part of the Life Support and Environmental Control System. school (ECLSS). And that system is being used in space to validate related technologies. China’s long-term goal will be to focus on solutions for large-scale and rapid vegetable cultivation in space.
“This system could be applied in deeper space exploration environments, including lunar and Mars lander missions. As a key part of ECLSS, plants grown in “space garden” structures are capable of absorbing CO2 from the air to release oxygen through photosynthesis, and then grow and purify the water through evaporation. steam,” this expert analyzed.
China is still trying to realize its goal of sending two astronauts to the moon before 2030. The country also plans to build a base on the moon, called the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), in the next decade. Although landing on Mars is still a further goal, the “red planet” has always been emphasized as a future destination for Chinese spacecraft, according to Space.
Youngest astronauts ever at Thien Cung
The Shenzhou-17 mission includes a group of three astronauts: Tang Hongbo (48 years old) and two former fighter pilots, Tang Shengjie (34 years old) and Jiang Xinlin (35 years old). They are the youngest group of astronauts ever to work at Thien Cung station. This space station will begin operating in low earth orbit from April 2021. Shenzhou-17 astronauts will work in space for another six months to perform many other experiments and maintenance tasks.