Aboard China’s Shenzhou 16 mission, astronauts have been engaged in an intriguing experiment involving the cultivation of vegetables on the Tiangong space station.

This initiative forms a crucial part of their preparations for future deep space exploration.

The mission, under the command of Jing Haipeng, along with novice astronauts Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao, has been in residence on Tiangong since late May.

They are scheduled to conclude their mission on October 31, after transferring control of the station to the newly arrived Shenzhou 17 mission team, Space.com reported.

During their tenure on the space station, Jing and his team have dedicated substantial effort to the cultivation of vegetables, employing two sets of specialized equipment for this purpose.

The first set became operational in June and has successfully yielded four batches of lettuce. The second set was activated in August, focusing on the growth of cherry tomatoes and green onions.

Furthermore, the China Astronaut Research and Training Center has taken a significant step by establishing ground-based replicas of the equipment.

This innovative approach allows researchers to compare and scrutinize the results meticulously, thereby gaining deeper insights into the disparities between plant growth in the space environment and on Earth.

Written by staff